I Need You
by BlackHawk's Child
Summary: Owen grinned at her. "We could come to an arrangement to let us have this when we need it," he offered, making her look at him in surprise. "No strings attached?" she asked. "Other than letting the other know if you want to start dating other people, no strings attached," he promised. Claire bit her bottom lip. "And it stays between us?" "Just between us." "Well, in


**So… I got a request to do this from a close friend :) So I made a very long one-shot fic out of said request (beating my current record of 9,997 words for Green-eyed Monster). Think** ** _Friends With Benefits_** **with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis just with a few changes ;)**

 **Thank you to Katie-Kate for proofreading this monster of a fic :)**

Claire Dearing had come to a conclusion as the tropical rain came down hard in Central America; InGen's latest recruit was the most infuriating man to walk the earth. Between his cocky, carefree, sexual-oriented attitude and his handsome, attractive rugged looks. She stopped in her tracks; there was her problem. Owen Grady wasn't like other men she had met (and dated). He wasn't a white-collar, Harvard graduated, CEO. He was a blue-collared, former Navy SEAL now working as the park's Velociraptor behaviourist. And she found him more attractive than any other man on the damn island. The red-head groaned and rested her head against the glass wall of her office.

A knock sounded at the door, taking Claire away from her thoughts. She turned just as her assistant came through the door. "Mr. Masrani wants you to have talks with the head of the Velociraptor department to see how the dinosaurs are developing," Zara informed her as she handed her boss a dossier.

Claire repressed a groan. "What details is he looking for?" she asked, flicking through the dossier. After that disaster of a date, she really didn't want to see Owen Grady again.

"Their behaviour. Has there been any progress on their interaction with their handler," Zara replied.

Claire nodded in reply. "Will you arrange a meeting with Mr. Grady for tomorrow morning?" she requested.

Zara nodded before asking, "Anything else?"

Claire shook her head. "No. Thank you, Zara," she replied. She sat down as Zara left, flicking through the dossier Dr Wu had about the Velociraptors and the information the Navy and InGen were willing to provide about Owen Grady. She frowned when she noticed that there were only two sheets of information about Owen, excluding his CV. What were they planning that meant hiring someone with a largely classified background? She could feel a headache coming. She didn't need to deal with this sort of shit…

* * *

Owen groaned as his phone rang. He looked at the caller's name, cursing before answering. "Hello?"

"Good afternoon, Mr Grady. Ms Dearing wants to schedule a meeting to discuss the development of the Velociraptors for tomorrow morning. Mr Masrani wants updates," Zara informed him.

Owen looked at his pack as they watched him, snapping in their restraints to get his attention. "What time?" he asked, wanting to end the call soon so he wouldn't piss off the girls.

"Ms Dearing is free at 10.30 tomorrow."

Owen bit back a sigh. "Okay. I'll arrange to meet her. At the paddock or her office?"

"The paddock. Ms Dearing wants to see visual development as well."

' _Of course she does_ ,' he thought harshly. "Okay. I will see her in the morning."

"Thank you, Mr Grady."

Zara hung up and Barry grinned at him. "Was that your girlfriend again?" Barry teased.

Owen glared at him. "First off, no, that was her assistant. Secondly, Claire is not my girlfriend," Owen responded, using his clicker to get the girls to shut up.

Barry smirked. "Sure. Every time you see her, or even think of her, you get distracted," he pointed out. Owen went to each of the girls, rubbing each of them all-the-while trying to ignore Barry. "Despite your disaster of a date – which I blame you for – you are still attracted to Claire," Barry continued, trying to get a response.

Owen turned to him before making his way out of the holding area. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to clock you," Owen warned.

Barry smirked. "You should apologise," he pointed out. "Like tomorrow, when she arrives," he added before disappearing when Owen turned to face him.

Owen groaned and went to his office; he knew exactly what Barry was talking about. He had been dreaming about getting the workaholic, self-controlled, over-organised Claire Dearing to fucking loosen up. Then he grinned; he still had her number. This would be fun. But he needed alcohol…

* * *

Lightning lit up the sky behind Claire as she went through all of the files she needed for meetings tomorrow. Well that explained the headache. She stood up and made her way to Zara's desk, the assistant only having hung up the phone. "Go home, Zara. We don't need to be caught up with the storm," she ordered.

Zara nodded. "Thank you, Claire. See you in the morning," she replied.

Claire nodded and made her way downstairs. She groaned when her phone pinged as she reached her white Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe. She climbed in before checking the text.

' _You know if you wanted to see me again, you could have just asked, Sweetheart._ ' She groaned; Owen Grady.

' _You have real cheek talking to a superior like that_ ,' she replied instead.

' _I went on a date with you. I'm not talking to the park's O.M. right now_.'

' _What do you want, Owen?_ ' She sighed. All she wanted to do right now was go home and rest. She could feel a migraine coming on.

' _Can we meet up? I want to apologise._ '

She frowned; that did not sound like the Owen she had gone on a date with five weeks earlier. ' _Who are you and what have you done with Owen Grady?_ ' she responded.

' _Our date didn't work out, I get that. We're too different. But I want to apologise, face-to-face._ '

Her frown deepened. He was drunk. He had to be drunk. ' _Where are you?_ '

' _Bar outside your place. Well, I think it's your place._ '

She sighed. She knew the one he was talking about. ' _Stay where you are,_ ' she ordered him. ' _I'll come get you._ '

' _I knew you liked me,_ ' was his response.

She rolled her eyes and drove home, parking outside the bar. She stepped out and groaned as she walked inside; the patrons were made up of sleazy workers who enjoyed catcalling women regardless of whether they were drunk or not. She looked around, trying to find Owen. "Claire!" somebody called from behind her, making her turn towards the voice. She turned and found Owen sitting alone in a booth, wearing jeans and a tight T-shirt; those would've been better for a date, she thought to herself before making her way over to him.

"You're drunk," she greeted, pausing at the booth.

Owen grinned at her. "And you're hot. Win-win," he replied.

Claire rolled her eyes. "I thought you wanted to apologise to me?" she stated, phrasing it like a question. "That sounds nothing like an apology."

Owen's grin didn't falter. "This is not a date. But I wanted to offer to buy you a drink. Whatever you want," he told her.

Claire raised a perfectly kept eyebrow. "I don't drink," she half-lied; did wine count?

Owen pouted and tilted his head. "Wine? Vodka? Beer? Coke?" he tried, watching her. "Come on. One can't harm your precious diet."

Claire sighed before sitting down. "I'm driving. Diet coke," she told him, sitting across from him.

Owen grinned in triumph. "Thank you," he told her before calling over the waiter and ordering her drink.

Claire watched him as the waiter left. "Why are you doing this, Owen?" she asked.

He looked at her before responding, "You're not the cold-hearted bitch everyone calls you."

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him. "Oh?" she asked, not able to think of anything else.

"You came here," Owen pointed out. "Because I was drunk. You were willing to come here and check up on me."

Claire sighed. "And that makes me have two sides?" she asked.

Owen nodded. "You're just a workaholic that has had to battle her way up the system," he explained to her. "Just because you're a woman. I admire you for that. But you have a soft side. It's just that something hurt you. Made you harden up."

Claire froze just as the waiter arrived with her drink. Owen tipped the kid before he left. "Why would you say that?" she finally asked, regaining her thoughts.

"You're closed off. Your eyes," he replied. "You don't trust anyone. You don't like socialising with people."

Claire couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Thank you for the drink, Mr Grady," she diverted; she didn't want to talk about this. "If you could hurry up, you can sleep on the couch. The storm is getting worse," she explained when he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I get to go to the Queen's palace?" he asked, letting his eyes widen like a child's. "I feel honoured," he told her.

She rolled her eyes; that was a common habit for her when she was around him. "You are such an idiot," she stated.

"That's what makes me attractive. I'm unpredictable," he replied cheekily.

Claire raised an eyebrow. "I happened to like predictable men," she answered.

"Is that why you don't trust people?" he asked. "Because predictable men have hurt you."

"That's none of your business, Mr Grady," she replied tersely.

"Owen," he replied, smiling at her; he figured out one of her secrets. "I wouldn't do that to you," he continued. "No woman deserves that. I think you've never had a man that treats you well. I'd do that for you."

"Our date was a disaster," she pointed out. "I don't think that's a good omen."

"I was nervous," he confessed, making her pause as she took a sip of her drink. "You are incredible beautiful and I was nervous. And I messed up. I'm sorry."

"You're drunk," she repeated from earlier. "You won't remember any of this in the morning."

"I remember the sex we had after the date," he replied, making her eyes widen in surprise; the sex had been pretty good. Frustrated, angry sex that she enjoyed. But her job was too important for rumours to spread that she was fucking another staff member. And it reminded her of everyone who had used her for sex rather than the relationship they promised.

"Please don't say that aloud again," she told him with a sigh and noticed his drink was empty. She made to get up but he put his foot up before she could move. She looked over at him, only to find him frowning at her. "What?" she asked with a sigh.

"You… You didn't fake anything during our private moment… Did you?" he asked, hurt and disappointment growing in his eyes as each second past before she answered.

Claire sighed; the puppy pout on his face did not help her attraction to him. "No. I did not. But as you said, I am a woman in a high power position. Men like to make excuses that I only got the job for spreading my legs," she replied calmly. "And we are going. Because you are drunk and we are currently experiencing a heavy storm out there."

Owen seemed to brighten up when she told him that the orgasms he had given her were not faked. "Maybe we can have a repeat sometime," he told her, standing up with her.

Claire sighed, hoping no one heard him. "Whatever, Mr Grady. My car is outside," she informed him, moving past him as he paid for the drinks. He followed after her, whistling at the sight of her Mercedes in the rain.

"You like white," he commented and she turned and glared at him before he could say anything else.

"Get in the car," she ordered, shaking her head at him.

Owen didn't argue, doing as he was told. Claire sighed and climbed into the driver's seat, quickly turning on the engine and pulling away. "Was it your high school sweetheart that broke your heart, was it?" he asked as she drove them to the resident's area.

"Owen, shut up," she requested with a sigh. "Please," she added.

Owen looked over at her. "That's an answer, you know," he told her. "I bet he became some CEO and couldn't handle you doing a better job than him," he stated, making her half-smile at him.

"Something like that," she agreed. "He wasn't my high school sweetheart," she added for clarification.

Owen looked surprised when she revealed that piece of information. "I don't forget things when I get drunk," he told her.

Claire looked back at him. "We'll see," she replied calmly.

Owen grinned. "I bet you a repeat of the ending of our date that I will," he replied.

Claire raised an eyebrow at him, just as they arrived in the underground parking for her residential area. "We're here," she told him, trying to ignore his comment. "Come on," she told him, climbing out of the car with Owen in tow. She locked the car and led him upstairs.

When they reached and entered her apartment, Owen whistled. "So this is the Queen Bee's palace," he commented, looking around, impressed at the open-plan, plain coloured apartment. "Am I one of the few people who gets to see this place?" he asked, making Claire tense, thinking he was trying to insinuate something.

"You are a self-centred, cocky son of a b-…." Claire started, turning around to face him but was interrupted when Owen cupped her face between his hands and kissed her deeply. She made a half-hearted noise of protest before bringing one hand to his chest, the other going to his hair.

Owen wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Kissing Claire was nothing like Owen ever dreamed about; and he had had a lot of dreams about Claire Dearing. The kiss was uncontrolled, frantic, wild; things he did not associate with the Park Operations Manager of Jurassic World.

Eventually, like all everything that needs oxygen, they pulled apart to breathe. Claire kept her eyes locked on his chest, trying to calm her racing thoughts. Lifting her head, she found Owen watching her carefully; like she was one of his damn animals getting ready to pounce. "If I kiss you again, will you slap me?" he asked, his own breathing rapid.

Claire shook her head, unable to speak. Owen kissed her again, backing her against the wall at the front of her apartment's door. She moaned into the kiss, arching upwards when his hands came down to cup her ass and lift her up. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer.

She could taste the cheap beer he drank in his mouth and she was immediately reminded that he had been drinking before she arrived at the bar. She pulled away, looking away from him when he pouted at her. "You're drunk, Owen. We can't," she whispered.

Owen smiled, realising why she had pulled away. "I only had two drinks," he whispered, making her look at him. "I'm not drunk. Merry, but not drunk," he promised.

Claire bit her bottom lip, thinking about all the consequences that could come about if they had sex. Again. Owen paused as he noticed her hesitation. "I wouldn't do anything you don't want me to," he promised, his breathing as heavy as hers.

Claire thought about it. If this ever got out, her career would be put in the spotlight. "Only tonight," she told him. "This is for only tonight. And just between you and I. I don't need this getting out. I don't think you do either."

Owen nodded, leaning back down and kissing her deeply. "Okay," he promised, whispering against her lips. "Just tell me if it's too much," he whispered, breaking the kiss and moving down her neck.

"No visible marks," she told him as he nipped on the skin of her neck teasingly. "Please," she added as an afterthought.

"Where's the bedroom?" he replied, his hands coming up to undo the blouse she was wearing.

"Furthest door down the right," she told him, gasping when he held her tight and carried her down the way she had instructed him. He kissed her again as they reached the bedroom door, pushing her against it.

"You're such a tease," he mumbled into her mouth as he finally managed to get her blouse off of her. "All I can think of when I see you is fucking you into the nearest surface," he told her, pulling away from her lips and gripping the camisole she was wearing, pulling it upwards.

"Yeah?" Claire whispered, moaning as he bent his head and took her left nipple in his mouth, lapping at her skin through her white La Perla lace bra. "Owen."

"Your pencil skirts hug your ass so fucking well," he whispered, switching to her other nipple. "And because I've seen you in my bed before, it makes it so much more tempting," he added. He opened the door and carried her in, dropping her on the bed unceremoniously, earning a squeal of surprise from her. He quickly pulled his shirt over his head before joining her on the bed.

"Have you been thinking about this?" she teased before he captured her mouth with his.

"Yes," he mumbled into her mouth, grinning as he brought his hands to her bra. "I've wanted to peel you out of your clothes since you left after the nice ending to our date," he confessed.

Claire broke the kiss, gasping while Owen slipped his hands under her back, quickly unclasping it. "Haven't you better thinks to be thinking about? Like training your assets?" she breathed, pulling the bra off and tossing it to the floor.

Owen lifted his head and grinned cheekily at her. "You were praising my assets the last time we were in this position," he told her.

Claire blushed, deepening the flush of arousal she had already earned. "Pervert," she complained before moaning when he lowered his mouth and took one of her nipples back into his mouth, sucking hard. "Owen. Fuck!" she gasped.

Owen grinned, bringing one hand down to her hip. He lifted his mouth from her nipple, kissing her sternum. "I want you naked," he whispered huskily against her skin.

Claire raised her hips, letting him unzip her skirt before pulling it down her long legs. "Is that what you wanted?" she asked, grinning at him.

Owen grinned up at her. "Part of it, yes," he replied cheekily. Then he kissed his way slowly down her body until he was lying between her legs, his mouth centimetres from her sex. "This is another part," he added before diving in.

"Fuck, Owen!" she gasped as he pushed two fingers inside her, his lips wrapping around her clit. Her hands clenched in the bed sheets. "Owen!"

He hummed against her, pulling his fingers out only to replace them with his tongue. She cried out, arching off the bed. He circled her clit with his thumb, humming as he tongue-fucked her the way he had learned she like the last time they had been in this position. He hiked one of her legs over his shoulder, giving him more access. One of her hands came to grip his hair, holding him firmly against her cunt.

Claire groaned, biting her bottom lip as Owen continued to hum as he fucked her with his mouth. It had been three months since their failed date and sex-filled aftermath. And he was proving it wasn't a once-off fluke. Owen groaned as he felt her thighs beginning to tense on either side of his head, her sex clenching around his tongue. He pulled back and pushed three fingers into her, curling them upwards against her G-spot while latching his lips around her clit. Claire cried out his name as it sent her over the edge. He worked her through her orgasm, pumping his fingers inside her slowly until she started to push at his head. He lifted his head and grinned up at her.

"Too much?" he teased, making her glare half-heartedly at him.

"Shut up, Grady," she told him before leaning down and kissing him hard.

Owen grinned into the kiss and moved so he could push her back down into the mattress. "Was that what you wanted, Ms Dearing?" he mumbled into her mouth.

"You wearing too much clothes," she murmured, pulling at the waistband of his jeans. "Get naked."

Owen pulled back, kneeling in front of her. He brought his hands to the button of his jeans, slowly undoing it.

Claire growled at him impatiently before sitting up and pulling his jeans down herself, along with his boxer briefs. "Get naked," she instructed him as she gripped his hard cock, making him groan into the kiss as she stroked him slowly.

"You keep doing that and you'll miss the main event," he warned her.

Claire grinned and let him go. "Condoms are in the bathroom, over the sink," she instructed, lying back down on the bed. "Hurry up or I'll have to take care of things with my own hands."

Owen was quick off the bed, stripping naked before going to the en-suite bathroom and getting the condoms as instructed. He returned to the bedroom, finding Claire had already started without him. She had her legs spread, pumping two of her slender fingers inside her, while her other hand teased one of her breasts.

Owen growled possessively at the sight. He strode over to the bed, leaning down and kissing her hard, bringing one hand down to cup the hand she was using to finger herself, pushing in two of his own fingers. Claire whimpered into the kiss, speeding up her movements. Owen followed suit, keeping his weight off of her with his elbow planted beside her head, the box of condoms still in his hand.

It didn't take long for Claire to come again, moaning into Owen's mouth as she came around their fingers. He grinned against her mouth before slowly pulling their fingers from her, bringing their hands to his mouth and sucking their fingers clean of her juices, his eyes locked on hers.

When he finally let go of their finger, Claire kissed him roughly, groaning at the taste of herself in his mouth. "Fuck me," she murmured against his lips, pulling back to look up at him. "I need you. Fuck me, Owen."

He grinned, pulling a condom from the box before tossing the box to the bedside locker. He quickly ripped the foil wrapper before handing Claire the condom. She reached between them, slowly rolling the condom down on his cock, making him growl as she stroked her slender, smooth hands along his shaft.

Claire pressed a kiss to the scruff along his jaw. "You gonna fuck me now, Owen?" she whispered teasingly. "I need you to fuck me. Please, Owen."

Owen pulled one of her legs over his hips as he knelt between her thighs. He rubbed the head of his cock along the length of her sex. "I like it when you beg," he told her with a cheeky grin.

Claire whimpered. "Please. Owen. Fuck me," she begged, grinding her hips in an attempt to get him to finally slide into her. "Want to feel you inside me. Please."

Owen growled possessively. He positioned his cock at her entrance before slowly pushing in. Claire moaned, the stretch of her walls around Owen's cock making her clench up around him. He groaned as he bottomed out inside her.

"Fuck. Claire," he groaned, his head resting against hers. "You're so fucking tight."

She responded by wrapping her other leg around his waist. "How about you show me how much you appreciate how tight I am around you?" she breathed, her hands gripping his biceps.

Owen moved to his knees, one hand cupping her ass while his other arm remained planted on the pillow by her head. He slowly pulled out before thrusting back in, hard, making Claire cry out at the sensation. He kept up the slow, deep thrusts, grinning when she moaned his name in response.

He moved his mouth to her ear. "You feel so tight, Claire," he whispered huskily in her ear. "So good on my cock. All I could think about, the past three months was you coming around my cock. Begging for me to fuck your pussy."

Claire moaned, twisting her head to look at him in the eye. "Please, Owen," she begged, moving her hips with his. "Harder. Faster."

Owen pulled her left leg over his shoulder, thrusting harder into her. "Like this?" he whispered huskily. "I'm gonna fuck you bowlegged, Claire," he promised her. "You won't want to leave this bed. Or not having me inside you."

Claire arched up into his touch. "Please," she begged again.

He dropped his head to leave marks along the inside of her breasts, easy to hide ones that she was less likely to shoot him for.

Claire bit her bottom lip. "Owen. Fuck," she cried out, arching her back as he slid one arm under her back. "More. Please."

He pulled her up before twisting them around so he was lying on his back. "Go at your own pace, sweetheart," he told her.

Claire moaned, rocking her hips. "Want to come again, Owen," she told him, her hands coming to land on his knees as he planted his feet on the mattress. "Fuck," she gasped.

"You're begging," he told her, thrusting up into her. "Told you that you'd beg for me."

Claire gasped as she felt her orgasm build. "You just like…" she started before moaning, interrupting herself.

Owen brought his hands to her breasts. "I like seeing you lose control," he finished, his own orgasm threatening to hit. "I like seeing you fall apart from your immaculate perfection."

Claire let out a breathless moan as Owen brought one hand between them, his thumb finding her clit. "And you called me the control freak," she managed to get out. She rocked her hips harder, moaning Owen's name. "Close. I'm close," she gasped.

"Wanna feel you come on my cock," he groaned. "You look so good when you come on my cock, Claire."

The combination of his cock inside her, his left hand on her breast, his thumb rubbing her clit and his throaty words pushed Claire over the edge. She rocked her hips quicker and faster, riding his cock through her orgasm.

Owen groaned at the sensation of Claire's cunt clenching around him. He thrust harder up into her, sitting up and kissing her before he came hard, groaning her name into her mouth. She kissed him through his orgasm, rocking her hips slowly. They both collapsed to the bed, panting hard, their limbs intertwined. Owen's arm pillowed Claire's head as they lay on the sweaty silk sheets.

Eventually, Owen got up to get rid of the condom before returning to the bed, crawling in beside her. Claire moved to blanket his body with her own, pressing wet kisses along the length of Owen's scruff-covered jaw before kissing his mouth soundly. "Thank you," she whispered as she broke the kiss.

Owen grinned at her. "We could come to an arrangement to let us have this when we need it," he offered, making her look at him in surprise.

"No strings attached?" she asked.

"Other than letting the other know if you want to start dating other people, no strings attached," he promised.

Claire bit her bottom lip. "And it stays between us?"

"Just between us."

"Well, in that case," she stated, swinging her leg over his hip. "I think we should seal the deal," she whispered against his lips, grinding her hips over his.

Owen grinned. "Yes, ma'am," he mumbled into her mouth, reaching for the condoms…

* * *

Claire groaned as she sat at her desk. She really, really hated male investors. This was the fifth time she had been asked out this week; and it was only Tuesday. She brought one hand to her head, rubbing her forehead. Her phone buzzed. She sighed, checking the contact name. She smiled; Owen.

' _Are you free tonight, Ms Dearing?_ '

' _Why did I give you my number again?_ '

' _Because my personal assets reward your personal assets_.'

Claire couldn't help but roll her eyes. ' _I was supposed to meet with an investor but I would rather go with you. What's the agenda?_ '

' _Am I the lesser of two evils?_ '

' _Yes. With much better additional packages._ '

' _We need to talk about your puns._ '

' _I'm sure I can arrange that._ '

' _My house. Tonight. 7pm. I'll cook._ '

' _Food means 'date'. We said no dates._ '

' _Friends eat together. Not a date. If we have fun afterwards, we do. If we don't, we don't. I promised you no strings._ '

Claire managed to smile. ' _Thank you. Need me to bring anything over?_ '

' _Just you. I have enough condoms for any activities we could get up to. And food. Unless you want to bring your own preference of drink. That you still won't tell me._ '

' _Okay. Maybe you can get it out of me during our extra-curricular activities. See you later_.'

' _I will make it my mission. See you later, sweetheart._ '

Claire smirked. Maybe she would treat Owen for his thoughtful kindness…

* * *

Owen looked out the window as Claire's white Mercedes pulled up outside his home. He smiled and moved to the front door as she climbed out of the car. She had obviously gone home after work since she was wearing a pair of jeans and a camisole. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, appreciating the change from her usual attire.

"Good evening, Mr Grady," she greeted, moving to the back of her car where she took out a crate of beer and a bottle of red wine.

"Ms Dearing," he replied, smiling at the sight of her holding the alcohol. "Did you buy me alcohol?" he asked cheekily as he closed the distance between them, taking the crate from her.

"I thought it was only fair," she replied, smiling at him as she kept the bottle of wine in her own hands. "You are cooking."

"Spaghetti," he replied. "Not burgers, I promise."

Claire smirked. "Thank you," she replied, pecking his lips before walking past him up the stairs into the bungalow with him hot on her heels. They had been fucking for three months now and they had become well acquainted with each other's homes during that course.

Owen deposited the crate on his kitchen counter, making his way over to her as she put the wine in the fridge. He wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. "Thank you for the beer," he whispered in her ear, kissing along her pale neck.

Claire smiled and twisted her head, catching his lips with her own. "You're welcome," she whispered against his mouth. "How long until food is ready?"

He grumbled and pulled away from her lips. "Just need to strain the pasta, put it on plates and add the meat," he told her, slowly pulling away from her.

Claire nodded. "Plates?" she asked, pointing at the right cabinet.

Owen grinned and nodded. He strained the water off the pasta, working with Claire to serve their food. "Have you eaten anything today?" he asked as he unconsciously pressed up beside her.

Claire shook her head before responding. "I had an apple at lunch," she informed him. "I had meetings and reviews all day. Food wasn't on my mind."

Owen frowned and looked at her. "No diet is worth starving yourself, Claire," he told her, concerned.

Claire sighed and looked at him. "It was a busy day at work, Owen. I usually do have something to eat," she promised him; they had agreed to be friends. That was probably why he was so worried about her.

Owen studied her experience before he decided that she wasn't lying to him. He nodded. She smiled at him and pecked his lips. "If you start starving yourself, I'm going to start feeding you," he warned her as he hugged her from behind, his hands coming to rest on her abdomen unconsciously.

She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder as she took out forks and spoons from the drawer; his home was growing on her. "I might take you up on it," she told him. "If this passes the test," she added, gesturing to the spaghetti in front of her.

He grinned. "I promise it is. It has vegetables for your diet too," he added cheekily.

She stole a kiss. "Promises, promises, Mr. Grady," she whispered teasingly.

He smirked and moved past, grabbing the pot of meat and sauce, scoping out adequate amounts for each of them. Claire grabbed a bottle of beer for him and poured a glass for herself. She followed him out to the living-room and his coffee table. He placed the plates on the table before moving to the TV. "I have Netflix," he offered. "What do you want to watch?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I have no preferences. I usually don't have time to watch anything," she confessed.

Owen turned and looked at her in shock. "What?!" he whisper-shouted.

Claire shrugged, now self-conscious. "I never have time for it," she defended. "I cook, eat, work, meet with investors, Owen. I don't really have the time to get into any soaps or the likes."

Owen shook his head as he turned on Netflix before he joined her on the couch. "Okay. We can watch a movie," he stated, grinning at her. "But you have to take more time for yourself, Claire. You'll drive yourself into the ground if you don't make time for yourself."

Claire looked at him after she took her plate from the table. "I do. I wouldn't be here otherwise now would I?"

Owen smirked. "I thought you were here for the sex," he teased, making her glare half-heartedly at him.

"Just shut up and put on the movie," she instructed, shaking her head at him.

Owen grinned and turned on _Charlie's Angels_ , making Claire turn to look at him in amused disbelief. "The three of them are badasses," he explained with a smirk as he took his dinner and beer from the table. "You're like a mixture of all of them. Just much more serious and sexier," he added.

Claire shook her head and kissed him for his troubles before settling her head on his shoulder, both of them eating their dinner and watching the movie…

* * *

Somehow, during the movie, they ended up making out like horny teenagers on his couch. She had drank almost half of the bottle of wine while he had drank about four bottles of beer. Now she was straddling his lap, grinding against him as they made out. He had one hand placed on the small of her back, the other cupping the back of her head, keeping her lips against his own.

"Claire," he moaned, letting her hands slide down his chest.

"I want you to be in control tonight," she whispered, surprising him; Claire, never willingly, gave up control when she had it.

"Are you sure?" he mumbled against her lips as she pulled her camisole over her head and he tore his shirt from his body.

"Yes," she whispered, climbing off of him so they could shove her jeans down her legs, while he pulled his sweatpants and boxers off of him. She returned to his lap, her hands threading through his hair. "I was never a normal high school girl," she whispered seductively in his ear. "I never had to sneak around with a boy, making out on the couch, or sneaking around having sex with him."

Owen groaned. "You want me to give you the experience," he whispered back, his voice lowering as she rocked her hips over his.

Claire was sure it was the alcohol. No, it had to be the alcohol. She was never, _ever_ , like this. But Owen brought out something different in her. "I want to be your good girl," she whispered, pressing her breasts up against his chest.

Owen growled and rolled them so she was underneath him. "I'm not into the fantasy of having sex with someone underage," he whispered, rubbing his scruff between her tits, marking her as his own.

Claire grinned up at him. "Then a co-ed of age?" she suggested, wrapping her legs around his. "Tell me what turns you on, Owen."

Owen groaned and kissed her. "Making you lose control," he told her. "Watching you fall apart in pleasure because of me."

She moaned into the kiss. "Make me lose control, Owen," she whispered, breaking the kiss. "Make me forget about everything but your cock pounding into me."

He couldn't help but growl; he had never heard her talk like that before and it was the sexiest thing he had ever heard. Actually, her lecture voice and how she was whispering in his ear were the sexiest things he had ever heard. Claire brought one hand down to rub her clit. He growled and caught her hand. "Keep your hands above your head," he ordered her. "I'm going to make you come on my cock alone."

Claire moaned, doing as she was told, biting her lip. He kept one hand on her wrists, keeping them pinned, while he rubbed his scruffy beard between her tits again, marking her. She arched up, wanting more as he pressed biting kisses along her chest.

He slid one hand between them, testing her wetness. He found her dripping wet, coating the two fingers he slowly pushed inside her cunt. "You're dripping for me, Claire," he whispered huskily. "You want me to fuck you. Make you never want to leave this bed."

Claire moaned, bucking her hips as he thrust his fingers inside her. "Please. Owen. Owen, please," she begged, bucking her hips. "Want to feel you inside me."

He grinned and slowly removed his fingers from her, grinding his cock head against her entrance. "You want my cock inside you, Claire?" he teased, his voice low.

She nodded. "I need you to fuck me, Owen," she breathed.

He kissed her roughly, slowly sinking inside her. She moaned loudly into his mouth, her legs wrapping tighter around his waist, pushing him until he bottomed out deep inside her.

He gave her a few seconds to adjust before begin a hard, punishing pace. He used both hands to keep her pinned, thrusting hard into her. She moaned his name loudly, pulling away from his kiss to throw her head back and cry out his name. He grunted and hitched one leg over his shoulder before returning his arm to her wrists. "So fucking good, Claire," he groaned, moving his mouth to her ear, rubbing his beard against her neck as he moved. "You're so fucking hot. You won't be able to walk by the time I'm finished with you."

She let out a whimper, white hot pleasure curling in her lower abdomen. "Owen. Faster. Please."

He groaned and complied, pounding harder and deeper, earning louder moans of approval from the red-head. The change of angle made her tighten up around him. "Wanna feel you come around me, Claire. Wanna feel you come on my cock. Will you be my good girl and come for me?"

Claire moaned, nodding wordlessly. "Yes. Yes. Owen! Fuck!" she cried out, arching into him as he fucked her the way she wanted to be fucked. She came like that, arched against him, crying out his name loudly; there was no one for miles, letting them have free reign over how loud they wanted to be.

Claire's orgasm triggered his own. He shouted her name, burying himself deep inside her as he came hard. The alcohol had made them inebriated, enough for them to forget about using a condom. Both of them were on the highs of their orgasms to notice either. He collapsed on top of her, both of them panting heavily.

When they eventually regained their breathing, Claire surprised him. "You sometimes treat me like a China Doll when you're fucking me," she told him, making him looking up from where he had buried his face between her tits. "You didn't today. Thank you."

Owen kissed her; he couldn't help it. "You deserve respect," he told her. "I simply don't want to fuck you like a rag doll."

She smiled at him. "You fucked me the way I wanted," she promised him. "You can do that anytime you want from now on. I can trust you to not hurt me more than what I want in regards to sex."

Owen kissed her again, softly as he moved them so they were lying face-to-face. "Yes, Ms Dearing," he promised…

* * *

Claire burst through his front door. He looked up from where he had been watching the latest episode of _Madam Secretary_ , frowning in concern. Claire had been crying, tear tracks slowly drying on her face. He immediately stood up, closing the distance between them, his hands coming to cup her face gently. "Claire, what's wrong?" he whispered.

"It's… My mom… She's…" she tried to explain, choking on each breath she took. "She's gone. Dead."

Owen immediately understood. He wrapped his arms around her as her body shook. He lifted her up as her knees gave out from grief. He carried her to his bedroom, gently laying her down on the bed. He climbed in beside her, holding her as she succumbed to the grief the news her sister had given her barely half-an-hour earlier. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, closing his eyes as she sobbed into his chest. Nothing was more heartbreaking than the sound of Claire Dearing crying uncontrollably. The most calm, controlled person he knew was lying in his arms, crying over the death of her mother.

"I've got you," he promised, opening his eyes and holding her close. "I've got you, Claire."

Claire leaned further into his touch, her sobs slowly becoming hiccups. She eventually lifted herself from his chest, rubbing at her make-up ruined face; Owen thought she never looked more beautiful. "I'm sorry. I should have called. I just," she tried before he interrupted her.

"You have nothing to apologise for, Claire," he promised as he sat up and cupped her face. "You just lost your mom. You have every right to be upset."

Claire bit her lip. "We weren't that close. She didn't approve of me being so far away. I barely kept in contact after my sister had her second child. I just… I put my career first," she whispered. "I never got to say good-bye."

Owen brushed a piece of hair from her face. "That doesn't mean that you didn't care, Claire," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "She was your mom. You two disagreed. It happens. It doesn't make you any less of a person," he promised, pressing his lips to her forehead. "It doesn't make you a bad person."

"I don't know what to do," she whispered.

"Go home for the funeral. Take a week off. I'm sure Zara can manage your workload for you. I'll do whatever you need me to do," he whispered.

"You don't work for me," she pointed out. "You work for a branch of Masrani Global that has nothing to do with the theme park."

Owen smiled. "But you manage all the financial business revolving around all of the island. I just don't need to send you the reports for behaviour," he replied, mentally groaning when he realised that Hoskins would be looking for those said reports he and Barry had yet to complete. "I do happen to send the financial reports in," he added.

Claire leaned into him, resting her head on his chest. "I've been playing devil's advocate all day, every day for the past ten years. I don't know how to be anything but that."

Owen wrapped his arms around her. "You do. You just have so many walls you forget," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Claire nodded. "I'll call my sister. Get the arrangements," she listed, taking a breath.

Owen didn't mind Claire taking a business-like approach to this. She needed her control right now, feeling safe as she thought about what would be what she needed to go home for the funeral. She got up, taking her phone and calling her sister while Owen cooked for them; he was pretty sure she hadn't eaten since lunch. She stayed in the bedroom while he was in the kitchen.

He paid enough attention to hear Claire's offer to pay for everything – she had more than enough money to do so. She was on the phone for about an hour, coming out as she finished. "Okay, Karen. I'll talk to you in the morning. I'm getting something to eat and going to bed. Yes. Yes. Okay. Go to bed. Goodnight." She hung up and placed her phone on the kitchen counter.

"How are you doing?" he asked, straining the rice.

Claire nodded. "I'm… okay," she finally answered, moving over to him. "Thank you. For everything," she told him.

Owen smiled at her. "No problem," he replied. "You can steal some of my clothes to sleep in. If you want to stay," he added.

Claire bit her bottom lip. "If it's not a problem," she told him.

Owen smiled and gestured to the food. "Go get changed and I'll serve serve up this," he told her.

She nodded. She turned to return to his bedroom before turning back, pressing her lips to his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered before disappearing into the room.

Owen turned back to the food. He easily served the rice onto their plates, then the curry and peppers. He brought their plates into the kitchen. He looked up when he heard the bedroom door open, pausing when he noticed she was wearing one of his old Navy T-shirts that came down to mid-thigh. He shouldn't find Claire in his clothes so hot. He really shouldn't. Not when she came here for comfort after finding out her mother had passed away. She smiled at him shyly and walked over to the couch. She sunk into the couch beside him, leaning against him. He handed her her plate and a fork. She whispered her thanks before digging in. Owen was right; she was hungry. They ate in silence, Claire leaning lightly against Owen. He kept _Madam Secretary_ playing, earning a raised eyebrow from Claire. She said nothing but he could see the small smirk on her face. Eventually, the plates ended up on the coffee table, cleared of food while Claire lay sleeping with her head on Owen's shoulder. He smiled softly at the sight; she looked ten years younger than her thirty-five-years when she slept. He turned off the TV with the remote before gently moving so he could carry Claire to his bed. She curled unconsciously into him, still asleep, as he carried her bridal style, taking care not to jostle her awake. He changed into his own pyjamas before climbing into bed behind her. He wrapped his left arm over her waist, his right arm resting on the pillows above her head. She leaned sleepily into him, stirring for a few minutes, her hand coming down to rest over his on her stomach before she fell back asleep…

* * *

Four days after she had left for the funeral, he found himself outside Claire's office. She was back from the funeral quicker than he expected so he finished a financial report to cover himself so he could check in on her. Zara sent him in when he showed he had a report for Claire. She was dressed in her usual white business suit, scanning through a file while typing on her laptop. She looked up, her body relaxing slightly when she realised it was only him.

"How was the funeral?" he asked as he handed her the financial report for his girls.

"I avoided most of my family," she confessed, her body tense as she looked away from the laptop to look at him. "The only people I saw were my sister, her asshole of a husband and a cousin."

Owen frowned. "You didn't go to the funeral, did you?" he asked, piecing the information together.

She shook her head, placing her head in her hands. "No. I couldn't. I felt out of place. I just… I needed to get out of there." It hadn't helped that she had been vomiting almost every morning too. Karen noticed and was willing to forgive her; Claire's health was more important, especially after their mother's death. "I was getting sick and wasn't able to keep any food down. I didn't even see my nephews while I was there. They were finishing up in school the day before the funeral."

Owen let out a sigh and walked around the desk, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered, kneeling down beside her.

Claire shook her head. "I didn't go to my mother's funeral. How is that okay?"

"You have one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. And you've been sick. I think that the fact you are upset about it shows just how much you wanted to be there. But you were out of your comfort zone."

Claire sighed. "Are you free tonight?" she asked, changing the topic.

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Want me to come over?" he asked.

"I'd rather go to yours," she answered. "I need you to take control."

Owen's eyebrows shot to his hairline. "Are you sure?" he asked, surprised. She had free reign to scream when they were alone at his bungalow.

Claire nodded. "I want to forget. Even if for only one night," she explained. "I need you to make me forget about everything but having you pound into me."

Owen understood. "Okay. Text me when you're coming over. I'll have everything set up," he promised.

She smiled. "Thank you, Owen."

He smiled back at her. "No problem," he replied, standing up and leaving her to get her work finish...

* * *

Claire moaned as Owen brushed his lips against her sex teasingly. Her hands were tied above her head while she lay naked on his bed, at his mercy and control. They had both been drinking before she worked up the courage to ask him to tie her up and make her beg to be fucked. It had taken him enough alcohol to be brave enough to do as she asked. He had been teasing her for almost two hours, making her forget about everything and everyone but him and her in his bedroom. "Please. Owen, please," she moaned, bucking her hips when he pressed sloppy kisses to the insides of her thighs, rubbing his beard along her sensitive skin.

He grinned up at her. "What do you want me to do, Claire?" he whispered teasingly, his mouth close enough to her mouth that she could feel each breath intimately.

"Fuck me. Please," she begged. "Please fuck me, Owen."

Owen growled and pressed a soft kiss to her sex before hovering over her. "Bring your legs to your chest," he instructed. As her legs moved upwards, he pressed the blunt head of his cock to her entrance tauntingly, rubbing along the length of her cunt. He pressed his shoulders down to get her legs pressed to her chest as he teased her with his cock. When she mewled loudly for him to put his cock inside her pussy – her words – he slowly pushed into her tight heat, groaning her name as he filled her up. She whimpered at the feeling, her eyes sliding closed as his thick length stretched her open.

He fucked into her hard, the way she described as she moaned in his ear. "Please, Owen. Fuck me hard. Make it impossible for me to walk in the morning," she begged. "I want your cock stretching me, fucking deep inside me."

Owen growled and fucked her hard, like a beast claiming his mate, pounding into her, marking her as his own. He set a hard pace, one hand gripping her hip as he rocked his hips down into hers. "You're so fucking hot," he groaned, thrusting deep inside her. "You always feel so good around my cock, Claire."

She moaned, arching up as he fucked her hard. "I want to come for you, Owen."

He groaned and brought one hand between them, rubbing her clit in time with his thrusts. "Want you to come for me, Claire. Want you to be a good girl and come on my cock," he whispered huskily in her ear. He sped up his thrusts, pressing his weight down on her. "Come for me, Claire."

She cried out as she came, her walls clamping down on his cock as he continued to thrust into her. He buried himself deep inside her, groaning her name as her orgasm triggered his own. He collapsed onto her, kissing her softly as they rode out their orgasms. He kept moving his hips against hers, prolonging their orgasms.

Claire moaned into the kiss, smiling softly at him. "Thank you," she whispered as he released her from the restraints holding up her arms.

"Whenever you want that, you just need to ask," he promised, kissing her softly…

* * *

Two weeks (and a lot of sex) later, he showed up at her apartment late at night, freshly showered, betraying the information she had been passed by his co-raptor trainer earlier in the day. She wordlessly let him in, not knowing how to react as he walked – limped – into her home. She shut the door behind him and followed him into the living-room, biting down the emotions of fear she had felt when she was told he had been injured following a run-in with the raptors.

Owen turned to her. "Who told you?" he finally asked, his voice husky from exhaustion.

"Barry," she replied, crossing his arms over her chest. "Although, I'm wondering why you didn't tell me yourself?" She phrased it like a question.

Owen frowned. "The girls just got over-excited, Claire. I made a split-decision mistake. I earned three scraps. That's all. It wasn't even the girls who got me, it was the cage," he explained, walking over to her but she took a step back, making him stop.

"You put yourself in danger instead of letting the ACU deal with it," she replied, trying to focus on anything but the urge to do whatever he wanted them to do.

"If they packed the girls with V12 bolts, they'd never trust me again," Owen defended. "I made a call that was in the best interest for everyone; my girls, me and ACU alike."

He turned and looked out the window; she didn't understand. The girls were his responsibility, his pack. He couldn't lose them. He made a call and survived. Why was she so worried? She had made it clear they were not in a relationship.

"You shouldn't put yourself in danger like that, Owen," she continued. "You could get yourself killed. No asset is worth the life of an employee." That wasn't the view of the company but she wasn't going to tell Owen that.

"Why do you care?!" he shouted at her, surprising her as he turned to face her. "I'm not some white-collared, Harvard graduated CEO, Claire! I'm not your perfect ideal man who stays behind a fucking desk!"

"I didn't say you were!" she shouted. "I didn't need you to be!"

"Then why do you care if I get hurt?" he asked, closing the distance between them, his chest heaving. "I'm obviously not enough for you to not even tell me about your nephews who are coming next week! You've made that perfectly clear!" She had definitely made it clear that she hadn't meant for him to hear Zara and herself discuss the arrival of her nephews next week when he went to visit her the previous day at her work. Not that he spent long there, handing her his report before leaving, mumbling about needing to get back to the girls.

"We're not dating!" she screamed at him; he only wanted sex. All men used her the same way. Except Owen didn't; he treated her better than any man she had dated before. But she didn't want to think about that right now. "I didn't think you'd be bothered to care that much!"

Owen froze. "You really think that low of me?" he asked, his voice low with hurt. "After everything, you think that low of me?"

Claire's eyes slid closed; no, it wasn't what she thought of him. It was the opposite of what she thought of him. But she had been alone for so long it had only been a matter of time before she messed up. "I think it's time for you to leave, Owen," she whispered, trying to keep her tears at bay. She wouldn't cry. They weren't dating, there were no emotions involved in this. But the thing was; there were emotions involved in whatever-the-fuck-they-were. Emotions she had thought she had locked up a long time ago, following her failed engagement.

Owen swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded; he didn't want to leave her home and, more importantly, her. "Yeah, I guess it is time for me to leave," he agreed, lying through his teeth. He turned to walk towards the front door. Then he turned back and kissed her cheek, just at the corner of her lips. "Goodbye, Claire," he whispered, leaving before she could say anything.

As the front door slammed shut, Claire slid down the wall away from the door. She brought her knees up to her chest, her arms coming to wrap around her legs. She focused on the scent of Owen's shirt that she was still wearing, trying to work her way through the anxiety attack that had claimed her body when the door slammed shut behind Owen. She closed her eyes, breathing hard. ' _Focus, Claire!_ ' she mentally shouted at herself. ' _You told him to leave. He wasn't like the ones who left you with a slamming door on their own decisions. He never laid a hand on you._ '

She stayed like that for the night, wishfully wanting Owen to come back. That they could forget about that damn fight. But he didn't. And anger festered inside both of them…

* * *

Claire really couldn't believe her luck; why did they have to bring Owen into this? Was there no one else on the island capable of assessing the padlock? She had not seen him in over a week and now she was driving to his home for a work related consultation. ' _Fuck my life,_ ' she thought to herself.

Claire pulled her white Mercedes up outside Owen's bungalow where she could see him working on his bike; when was he not working on that stupid death trap? She sighed before getting out of her car, briefly checking her appearance.

She made her way over to the former SEAL. "Mr. Grady, I need you to come take a look at something," she stated, remaining formal; she didn't know the social forms for whether you called the man you have established a 'friends-with-benefits' relationship with.

"Why are you calling me _Mr. Grady_?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at her as he paused from working on his bike.

"Owen," she reiterated. "If you're not too busy," she added, even though she knew that she wasn't really asking that. She didn't know what he wanted. They had an arrangement. ' _And then emotions got caught up in their_ 'not-a-relationship' _, and they said some things that maybe they shouldn't have, and she told him to leave, and she has been living on a coffee diet since then_ ,' she rambled mentally before trailing off. She really needed to stop thinking about what went wrong between them. She ended things. She didn't fight for whatever-they-were and he had every right to be an asshole to her.

"Well, I'm pretty busy," he lied, looking away from her immaculate appearance as he took a sip from his bottle of coke; that was a change since she usually saw him with a bottle of beer. Probably too early in the day for alcohol.

"We have an attraction," she started before he interrupted her.

"That's not what you seemed to think the last time I saw ya," he interrupted, dropping his bottle and standing up. Well, that wasn't totally true; she simply insinuated that he didn't care about her despite the fact that he had made it very clear he cared about her. A lot. ' _Don't think that way, Grady!_ ' he mentally-shouted at himself.

"I'm talking about the dinosaurs, Mr. Grady," she replied, glaring at him; their personal not-a-relationship was not what she came here to discuss.

" _Owen_ ," he stressed as he interrupted her, making his way over to her while she slapped at a mosquito.

"It's about a species we've made," she continued as if he hadn't interrupted her.

He caught the mosquito, making her look at him with a tight smile. "You just up-ed and made a new dinosaur?" he asked, raising an eyebrow before turning his back on her.

"Yeah… that's kinda what we do here," she stated as it was the most obvious thing in the world, looking at his attractive back before she sighed. "The exhibit opens to the public in a few weeks and Mr. Masrani wanted me to _consult_ with you."

He walked back over to her. "You want to consult here? _Or in my bungalow?_ " he asked, his voice dropping an octave lower with the insinuation.

She made a face; she really didn't need him making this more difficult than it already was. She wanted to slip that tight T-shirt over his head and make up for the fight they had had the previous week. "That's not funny," she replied, shaking her head at him, her head tilted.

Laughing, he quickly walked up the steps to his bungalow. "It's a little funny," he replied as he moved.

"We'd like you to evaluate the paddock for vulnerabilities," she informed him.

"Why me?" he asked while out of sight.

"I guess because Mr. Masrani thinks since you're able to control the raptors-" she started to reply as she followed him up the steps.

"See it's all about control with you," he interrupted, reappearing. "I don't control the raptors. It's a relationship. About mutual respect. That's why you and I never had a second date," he told her harshly before he returned to working on his bike.

"Excuse me?" she said in shock. "I never wanted a second date!" Wait, why did he bring up their disaster of a date? That had been almost a year ago; they had been perfectly fine with their arrangement until their fight the previous week.

"What kind of person prints out an itinerary for a night out?" he continued; if she thought so low of him he would give her a reason to think like that.

"I'm an organised person," she defended, frowning. This wasn't like her Owen. He never treated her like this. She wasn't going to over-think about the fact that she had called him hers.

"What kind of diet doesn't allow tequila?" he added, turning to look at her over his shoulder.

"All of them, actually," she replied. "And what kind of man shows up to a date in board shorts?" Now it was her turn to be a bitch.

"It's Central America, it's hot," he defended.

That was a fair point. "Okay, okay, can we just focus on the asset, please?" She didn't come here to talk about whatever-they-were right now. She came here to do her job and he was being his old, annoying self.

"The asset?" he asked, standing up and walking back over to her. "Look I get it. You're in charge out here and you gotta make a lot of tough decisions. It's probably easier to pretend these animals are just numbers on a spread sheet. But they're not. They're alive."

"I'm fully aware they're alive," she replied, confused at what he was trying to get at.

"You might have made them in a test tube but they don't know that," he stated and she contained a loud groan of frustration at him. "They're thinking gotta eat, gotta hunt, gotta…" he continued, making a pumping motion with his fist – a ten-year-old would know what he meant by that. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "I know you can relate to _one_ of those things. Right?" he asked, half-serious _._

She focused her eyes on him, giving him a look; ' _You know that I do_.' She walked back down the steps. "I'll be in the car," she started. Her eyes briefly flicked to his lips. She wanted to kiss that damn smirk off his face but she resisted. This time. And because she wanted her control back, she added, "You might want to change your shirt. They're very sensitive… to smell." She stepped past him and made her way back over to her car, not giving him a backward glance.

Owen watched her walk over to the car; his eyes falling to the way her ass looked in that white pencil skirt. All he wanted to do was push her against the wall of his bungalow and show her why he was the Alpha.

He groaned and walked back up into his bungalow, quickly getting changed. As he was in the bathroom, giving himself a quick wipe down, he remembered the time when he had convinced Claire to shower with him, ending up with her pressed against the wall of the shower and his cock pressed deep inside her. He groaned and quickly pulled on his work shirt and waist jacket; Claire was going to be the death of him. He walked back out of the bungalow, making his way over to the car…

* * *

The drive was filled with silence and sexual tension, neither one daring to speak. Eventually, they came to a halt outside a new paddock where workers were still building. Or looked like, adding onto the existing building.

"We have been pre-booking tickets for months," Claire informed him as they climbed out of the car. "The park needs a new attraction every few years in order to reinvigorate the public's interest. Kinda like the space program," she continued, leading him up to the observation room for the paddock. "The corporate felt genetic modification would up the _wow_ factor."

"They're dinosaurs, _wow_ enough," Owen stated.

Claire smiled; if only it was that simple. "Not according to our focus groups," she replied. "The Indominus Rex makes us relevant again."

"The Indominus Rex?" Owen laughed.

She had to roll her eyes at his words; he was not the first person to say that to her today. "We needed something scary and easy to pronounce," Claire replied as she turned to face him before they entered the paddock observation room. "You should hear a four-year-old try to say _Archaeornithomimus_."

"You should hear _you_ try to say it..." he replied, muttering under his breath; he should not find it that fucking hot when she spoke like that. They entered the observation room. Nick was sitting at his desk on his lunch break, munching on a sandwich. They walked over to one of the windows. "What's this thing made of?" Owen asked as he looked out into the paddock.

"The base genome is a T-Rex," she informed him, fixing her hair before turning to look at him. "The rest is... classified."

Owen looked at her. "You made a new dinosaur but you don't even know what it is?" he asked, snorting in doubt before looking back out into the paddock.

"The lab delivers us new assets and we show them to public," she replied, frustration beginning to show in her tone. She only knew about the base genome, the rest was for her higher ups. She didn't mention that she was against the making of such a large, scary monster so soon. They should have started with something less terrifying. But then she remembered the debate between InGen and Masrani in an attempt to show the raptors to the public similar to the way they did with Rexy. She turned to Nick. "Can we drop a steer, please?"

Nick sighed, looking at his sandwich before turning to press a button.

Owen ignored her frustration. "How long has the animal been in here?" he asked, looking around the paddock, assessing it and searching for this new dinosaur Dr Wu had cooked up. He didn't trust that guy with his mad experiments; after the last time the scientist had been involved with the re-introduction of dinosaurs, could anyone really blame him?

"All its life," Claire replied.

"Never seen anything outside of these walls?"

"We can't exactly walk it," she answered, sarcasm obvious in her tone. There was a rumbling noise outside the observation room and a huge crane lowered a hunk of beef down from above.

"And you feed it with that?" he asked, pointing at the crane.

"Is there a problem?" Claire asked, bemused and still mildly annoyed. He always had that effect on her. Except for when they weren't fighting like cats and dogs.

"Animals raised in isolation aren't always the most functional," Owen replied.

"Your raptors are born in captivity..." she stated, confused at his theory.

Owen looked back at her, frowning slightly. "With siblings. They learn social skills. And I imprint on them when they're born. There's trust. The only positive relationship this animal has is with that crane. At least she knows that means food."

Claire adopted a patronizing, sarcastic tone, not agreeing with his opinion. "So she needs a friend? We should schedule play dates? That sort of thing?"

"Probably not a good idea," he replied darkly.

Noticing the dinosaur hadn't emerged from the jungle to eat the meat, Claire leaned over and tapped on the glass. "Where is it?" she asked aloud.

It was Owen's turn to be sarcastic. "What, is it in the basement? Is there a downstairs? Maybe it's in the rec room."

Ignoring him, Claire shook her head. "It was just here. We were just here," she stated. She went over to one of the thermal imaging consoles and activated it. It performed a scan of the paddock. After a moment it emitted an annoyed buzzing sound and flashed the readout "NO THERMAL SIGNATURES DETECTED." The other computer screens arranged around the room begin beeping in alarm, all showing the same words.

"Oh, shit!" Nick exclaimed as Owen walked over to a window at the far end of the room. "That doesn't make any sense. These doors haven't been opened in weeks," he stated, pushing his chair back to look out into the paddock.

Across the room, Owen pointed out the window. "Were those claw marks always there?" he asked, looking back over at Claire.

Claire turned and walked over to look at what he's pointing at. "You think it...?" she asked before realization hit her. "Oh, God!" she exclaimed before making her way to the door. "She has an implant in her back. I can track it from the control room," she informed him.

Owen watched her leave before turning and looking back out the window. By the rear door of the paddock, we can see numerous deep scratch marks in the concrete going up very high.

* * *

Claire quickly climbed into her Mercedes and raced back to the main area of the park. She rang the security control room as she pulled away from the paddock. "We have an asset out of containment!" she practically shouted over the phone. "Put ACU on alert! This is not a drill!"

 _Lowery and Vivian are chatting in the control room before Claire rang them. "Even though I didn't meet him until I was thirteen, I definitely considered Carl to be, like, more of a dad than my real dad," Lowery was saying to Vivian before they heard a beep. On the park map, a blinking red dot indicated trouble in the Restricted Area. The phone rang before Lowery answered it. "Yeah, hello?_

"Lowery..." Claire sighed in relief. "Get me coordinates on the Indominus."

 _Lowery and Vivian exchanged confused glances. "Okay, yeah, uh..." Lowery stated before pulling up the Indominus' paddock and coordinates. Simon entered and looked up at the map, making his way over to Vivian and Lowery. "...let me do... uh, I'm doin' it right now."_

* * *

Owen and Nick entered the main area of the enclosure through a side door. Warily, they walked through the paddock to the back wall, where a worker, Ellis, was inspecting the claw marks. The other two men make their way over to where Ellis was standing. Owen lifts a hand and inspects the deep grooves with his bare hand and the three men stare up at the massive wall looming over them.

"That wall's forty feet high. You really think she could've climbed out?" Nick asked.

"Depends," Owen answered.

"On what?" Nick asked.

"On what kinda dinosaur they cooked up in that lab..." Owen replied.

* * *

The tracking device indicated on the map that the dinosaur is still in Paddock 11. "Wait, what the hell?" Lowery exclaimed. "It's in the cage."

 _Claire frowned at his words. "That's impossible. I was just there," she replied._

Lowery was adamant. "Claire, I'm telling you, she's in the cage!"

Simon looked up and watched a video feed of the Paddock 11 interior showing Owen, Nick and Ellis still inspecting the claw marks. After a moment, Vivian and Lowery noticed the feed too. "What? Wait a second, there are people in there," Lowery stated over the phone.

 _Claire gasped. "Get them out of there now! Now!" she shouted._

"Paddock 11, this is Control! You need to evacuate the containment," Vivian radioed, fear obvious in her voice.

* * *

 _Vivian's voice came garbled through Nick's radio. "...area... ...Paddock 11... ...dock 11, do you copy..."_

"Yeah, what's the problem?" Nick answered, unconcerned.

Owen began glancing around, suddenly uneasy. They weren't the only ones in the Paddock.

 _"It's in the cage! It's in there with you!" Vivian shouted, frantic._

Nick looked confused just as Owen shouted, "Go!" He pushed past Nick and then the three men began running for the door they entered through. Nick is slow and lags behind. Suddenly he stopped, glimpsing the outline of Indominus Rex through the trees. Turning, he ran back the other way. Owen and Ellis skid to a halt as the Indominus Rex emerged from the trees and blocked their escape, letting out a roar. The two turned and ran back the way they came, but Ellis wasn't fast enough. The Indominus snatched him up in her clawed hands, the man screaming in terror.

 _Masrani, Lowery and Vivian listened to Ellis' dying screams over the radio. They were locked in shock as they heard crunching sounds when the Indominus ate Ellis. Claire could also hear the sounds of Ellis dying over the phone._

Reaching the back door, Nick used a handprint ID and a security code to override the door lock. The huge door began to open. Running to it, he hesitated, looking back at Owen who was running towards him with Indominus Rex right behind him. He watched the Indominus with Ellis in her mouth, the dinosaur ripping off one of his legs. Nick screamed and ran through the door.

 _A video feed came up in the control room, showing the paddock door opening with an alarm blaring, "SECURITY BREACH."_

 _"Close the door," Simon ordered._

 _"We can't lock him in there with that thing!" Lowery protested._

 _"Come on, close it now!" Simon repeated, leaning over and pressing the button himself._

 _"Somebody talk to me! What is happening?" Claire shouted, terrified; Owen was in there with that monster._

The door in the paddock was beginning to slowly close as Owen ran towards it, with the huge predator gaining on him from behind. "Shit!" he cursed, changing his angle so he could fit through the door. He got through while workers rushed around in a wild panic, trying to escape. The Indominus got halfway through the door before it closed on her. Her head and one arm stuck free and she snapped her jaws at Owen. He ran and slid underneath the crane, twisting to lie on his stomach, hiding as he watched the Indominus' actions. The Indominus pushed the door off of its track and stepped out from inside the paddock, freed.

Owen watched, wide-eyed, as Indominus stomped over to where Nick was sitting in front of a pickup truck. She walked around the left side as Nick, mustering his courage, peered around the right front bumper. He whimpered and sobbed as he noticed the huge tail disappearing around the rear of the truck before he turned back around, trying to hide. He clutched and kissed a crucifix. Suddenly, the truck was violently knocked aside, flying through the air and crashing noisily to the ground upside-down, leaving the supervisor sitting out in the open, completely exposed to the predator. Nick caught Owen's eyes before, suddenly, the jaws snapped down, grabbing Nick and lifting him up out of view.

Owen drew a survival knife and rolled over onto his back. Reaching up, he grabbed the crane's fuel line cut through it with his blade, rupturing it and spewing gasoline down onto himself. Hurriedly, he smeared it all over himself in an effort to mask his scent. Having finished eating Nick, Indominus now approached the crane and crouches down on all fours, sniffing. Owen lay back, perfectly still, as the dinosaur's bloody, gore-encrusted jaws inch closer and closer until finally she withdrew roaring in protest at the smell of gasoline, rising up out of view, and walked away.

Slowly, Owen lifted his head, watching her leave, her thudding footsteps retreating into the distance. Shivering, he lay back down and exhaled in relief…

* * *

Claire entered the control room where everyone turned to look at her. "Everyone remain calm," she instructed even though she felt anything but that. She took a breath before looking at the screen where the Indominus was being tracked down. "The implant will shock it if it gets too close to a perimeter fence," she stated as she came down to where Lowery and Vivian were sitting at their monitors. All the while praying that Owen was still alive. She needed him to be still alive.

"Okay, it's moving really fast," Lowery informed her.

"This is control, put out a park-wide alert-," Vivian started before Simon interrupted her.

"Hang up the damn phone! Please!" he ordered, watching the screen.

"Sorry, I'm getting new information. Everything is fine," Vivian stated.

"Let Asset Containment capture it quietly," Simon stated as he stood beside Claire. "The very existence of this park is predicated on our ability to handle incidents like this. It was an eventuality, okay?"

"You should put that in the brochure," Lowery commented drily. " _Eventually, one of these things will eat somebody._ "

"That paddock is four miles from the closest attraction," Claire observed, trying to ignore Lowery's sarcasm. "ACU can handle this, no one else is gonna get-."

"Eaten?" Lowery inputted helpfully.

* * *

"I need to see a badge," the security man said to Owen when the latter entered the room. "Sir, I need to see a badge."

Owen ignored him and pushed past. "What the hell happened out there?" he shouted, looking directly at Claire as she turned around to face him, relief flooding over her that he was alive. Angry but alive.

"Sir," the security man tried again.

Owen still ignored him. "There are thermal cameras all over that paddock. She did not just disappear!"

"It must have been some kind of a technical malfunction," Claire replied, not sure herself what had happened.

"Were you not watching?" Owen asked harshly. "She marked up that wall as a distraction. She wanted us to think she escaped!"

Claire couldn't believe what he was saying. "Hold on. We are talking about an animal here," she argued.

"A highly intelligent animal," he replied.

"400 meters to the beacon," Vivian announced.

Claire turned, fear coming back to her as she watched the ACU approach the beacon declaring the Indominus' location.

"You're going after her with non-lethals," Owen breathed in disbelief.

"We have $26 million invested in that asset," Simon stated. "We can't just kill it."

"Those men are gonna die," Owen stated, looking over at the billionaire as if it was obvious what was going to happen to the ACU team.

"300 meters to the beacon," Vivian informed them.

"You need to call this mission off right now," Owen ordered.

"They're right on top of it," Vivian acknowledged..

"Call it off right now!" Owen growled.

"You are not in control here!" Claire shouted at him.

 _"Blood's not clotted yet," the head ACU leader stated as he picked up the tracking implant. "It's close."_

"What is that?" Simon asked.

"That's her tracking implant," Owen stated. "She clawed it out."

"How would it know to do that?" Claire asked, confused.

"She remembered where they put it in," Owen replied.

 _"It can camouflage!" the team leader shouted before he was swallowed up._

The control room watched on as the ACU became live bait. Owen turned to look at Claire, their eyes meeting for a moment before she returned her frightened gaze to the screen.

"Evacuate the island," Owen ordered.

"We'd never reopen," Claire answered hauntingly.

"You made a genetic hybrid," Owen pointed out, beginning to pace. "Raised it in captivity. She is seeing all of this for the first time. She does not even know what she is. She will kill everything that moves."

"Do you think the animal is contemplating its own existence?" Simon asked.

Claire kept her eyes on Owen, trying to contain her own emotions. They'd created a monster.

"She is learning where she fits in the food chain, and I'm not sure you want her to figure that out," Owen replied. "Now, Asset Containment can use live ammunition in an emergency situation. You have an M134 in your armoury. Put it on a chopper and smoke this thing!"

"We have families here," Claire protested, frowning. "I'm not gonna turn this place into some kind of a war zone!"

"You already have," Owen stated harshly.

"Mr. Grady, if you're not gonna help, there's no reason for you to be in here," she replied, glaring at him. They didn't need to do this right now.

Owen swiped his arm across the desk in front of him, knocking Lowery's toy dinosaurs to the ground before storming up the stairs. "I would have a word with your people in the lab," he told Simon. "That thing out there… that's no dinosaur."

Claire watched Owen leave. A small part of her wished he would stay. Yes, she was grateful that he was alive but he couldn't talk to her like that in front of other people. She was the Operations Park Manager, not him. She sighed before looking up at the screen. "Okay. I'm going to close everything north of the resort," she announced as Simon left to go to the lab to talk with Dr. Wu. "This is a Phase One, real world. Bring everyone in," she ordered.

"This is a Phase One, real world," Vivian informed the security teams and ride operators. "I repeat; this is a Phase One. Bring everyone back in."

* * *

Watching the screen of a family being reunited, Claire immediately thought of her nephews. How could she be so stupid to forget them? She stepped away and rang Zara.

 _"Hello?" Zara answered, sounding panicked._

"Zara. I need you to bring the boys back to the hotel right away," Claire ordered.

 _"I don't know..." Zara panicked. "I've been looking everywhere for them. It's just been quite a while."_

"Slow down. I can't hear you," Claire replied.

 _"Zach and Gray, they've run off," Zara informed her._

"They what?" Claire exclaimed. Quickly after Zara explained the situation, Claire rang her eldest nephew.

 _"Hey, Claire," he answered._

"Zach, thank God," Claire breathed in relief. "Is Gray with you?"

 _"I can't really hear you," Zach answered. "We're in the hamster ball."_

The Gyrospheres. "Okay. Zach, listen to me. I need you to..." Claire started to instruct before she was cut off from bad signal.

 _"Hello?" Zach tried._

"Zach?" Claire tried but there was no answer. She quickly made her way back down to Lowery. "Are there any Gyrospheres left in the Valley?"

"No, they're all accounted for. It's my job," Lowery answered before one Gyrosphere was shown to be still in the Valley. "What? There's one in the field."

Claire turned to Vivian. "Send a team of rangers, bring them in," she ordered.

"Security, we need a search and rescue in the Valley," Vivian ordered the security.

 _"It's gonna be a while. We've got our hands full out here," the team leader replied._

Claire picked up a comm. "No, there are two guests missing! You need to make this your top priority!"

"Just do it, man," Lowery mumbled.

 _"There's a lot of guests missing. We're doing the best we can."_

"Okay. Fine," Claire replied. "I'll do it myself."

She looked up right as Owen came up on screen, having another beef with the security man. _"Hey! Do you think I'm the one you need to be worried about right now? Back off!" he shouted._ She couldn't be more grateful for seeing him there as a plan formed for her.

* * *

She arrived down at the centre of the visitors information centre, looking around for Owen. And then she heard him. "Claire!"

"I need you," she informed him, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion; this wasn't the time for their sexual trysts.

"Okay," he replied in confusion.

"I need your help," she reiterated. "My nephews, they're out in the Valley. Please, if anything happens to them..." she trailed off.

He took her hand and pulled her away from prying ears. "How old?" he asked.

"Ah," she replied, trying to think; why couldn't she think properly? "The older one, he's high school age. The younger one, he's... He's a few years..." Fear was taking over her; she knew their ages but damnit, she was too controlled by the fear coursing through her to think.

"You don't know how old your nephews are?" Owen asked, surprised; usually Claire knew everything she needed to know.

Claire let out a sigh. She really was a bad aunt.

Owen cupped her face. "Focus, Claire. We can get them," he told her, noticing her breathing stuttering. He knew she didn't need a panic attack; he witnessed once before after she had woken from a nightmare. She had explained the nightmare to him when she had calmed down. It the last night of her failed engagement that ended seven years ago; she had found out that her ex-lover had been having an affair with his secretary and had gotten her pregnant. Claire called off the engagement, telling Adam that she deserved better than some unfaithful bastard who couldn't keep his dick in his pants. Adam hit her twice, leaving her with a dislocated jaw, insulting her multiple times before he stormed out of her apartment and out of her life. She had filed for domestic abuse and a restraining order to make sure that she would never see his face again. And then she became the Senior Assets Manager for Jurassic World, outdoing anything Adam could have ever hoped to achieve himself. She hadn't looked back since.

Claire took a breath and nodded. "Lowery sent me the map coordinates of their Gyrosphere," she informed him, slowly regaining control of her racing thoughts. "We can take a park jeep and go after them."

Owen nodded; there was the Claire he knew and loved. "Lead the way," he told her.

* * *

"Come on. Pick up, pick up," she whispered into her phone as Owen drove them towards the Valley.

"Claire, relax. Breathe," Owen ordered, noticing the way her body was shaking; the same way when she had nightmares. "Breathe. We'll find them."

Claire hung up her phone, clasping it with both hands, breathing hard.

They arrived at the Valley where Owen drove them to the hill. He stopped the jeep meters away from where an Apatosaurus was lying on the ground, several deep wounds shown on its side. "Stay in the car," Owen ordered as he climbed out of the jeep; Claire didn't need to see this. He brought his gun with him, walking up the side of the Apatosaurus.

"Hi," he whispered calmly as he knelt at the Apatosaurus' head. He gently brought his hands to her skin, soothing her through the pain.

Claire watched in awe as Owen knelt by the dying dinosaur. She climbed out of the car, ignoring his order and walked over to where Owen was.

"I know, I know," Owen whispered calmly to the Apatosaurus. "It's all right. All right, girl." He noticed Claire walking over to him; he was going to throttle her for getting out of the jeep but was surprised when she knelt down and gently brought her hand to the Apatosaurus' skin.

Claire bit back tears as the Apatosaurus took deep, shuddering breaths as it lay dying on the ground.

Owen looked up at Claire as she stared at the Apatosaurus. The dinosaur seemed to accept its faith when Claire placed her hands on the Apatosaurus' neck.

The Apatosaurus lifted her head and let out a moan. "Okay," Owen whispered, gently guiding the Apatosaurus to lie back down. "Okay, okay. You're okay."

Claire watched Owen; he was different when he interacted with the dinosaurs. The same way he was with her when she lost her mother. She looked back down at the Apatosaurus. She gently placed both hands back on the dinosaur, watching it as she took her last breath. As her breathing stopped, Claire didn't have the strength to stop the tear that slid down her cheek. She looked up at Owen when he stood and walked over the hill, following after him.

They found five more Apatosaurus lying dead on the ground of the Valley. "It didn't eat them," Owen observed aloud as Claire stood beside him, her hands coming to cover her mouth. "It's killing for sport." He turned to look at her. "We need to move," he told her, taking her hand and leading her back to the jeep.

Claire nodded and pulled up the map that Lowery had provided her with the last location the Gyrosphere had recorded. Owen looked at it before nodding, both of them climbing into the jeep and driving towards the location off the Valley.

When they arrived, Claire and Owen immediately climbed out of the jeep and made their way over to the destroyed Gyrosphere. " _Hey, there. I'm Jimmy Fallon. Welcome aboard the Gyrosphere, an amazing machine made possible by science. Hey, there. Your safety is our main concern. Now just relax and enjoy the ride._ "

Owen pulled a tooth from the damaged glass of the Gyrosphere. "No, no, no," she exclaimed when she found Zach's broken phone on the ground beneath the Gyrosphere. Her hands shook as she held the phone, dropping it.

"Hey," Owen called. "They made it out," he stated, pointing at the footprints.

Claire breathed a sigh of relief. Owen led her though the jungle, following the footprints until they arrived at a waterfall.

"Oh my God, they jumped," Claire stated as the footprints ended at the cliff.

"Brave kids," Owen commented as he threw his gun over his shoulder.

"Zach! Gray!" Claire shouted.

Owen immediately shushed her.

"Hey, I am not one of your damn animals," she protested.

"Listen," he continued. "Those kids are still alive but you and I will not be if you continue to scream like that."

"So..." she started. "You can pick up their scent, can't you? Track their footprints?" She really was out of it if she asked that.

"I was with the Navy, not the Navajo," he replied, frustrated.

"So then what should we do? What do you suggest we do?" she asked.

"You get back. I'll find them," he told her.

"No, we'll find them," she protested. It was her nephews out there, not his.

"You'll last two minutes in there," he protested. "Less, in those ridiculous shoes."

Claire took a deep breath; he was so frustrating. She undid her belt, rolled up the sleeves of her blouse and tied the bottom of her blouse under her breasts before placing her hands on her hips.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"It means I'm ready to go," she replied, as if it was obvious.

"Oh. Okay," he replied, keeping his eyes on her. "Let's get one thing straight. I'm in charge out here. You do everything I say, exactly as I say it," he instructed her.

"Excuse me?" she asked in disbelief; they weren't in the bedroom (or whatever surface they've managed to fuck on and against).

"Just relax. It's just like taking a stroll through the woods. 65 million years ago," he told her before taking his gun from her shoulder and turning around, pointing towards a path which would lead them down to the pool. As Claire walked ahead of him, he turned to look at the footprint of the Indominus Rex behind the footprints of Claire's nephews. He wouldn't mention the chance her nephews were dead.

* * *

As Claire and Owen made their way through the jungle, they stopped as they heard an engine. They shared a look before Owen led her in the direction of the engine. They found one of the old Park's garages where they found one side empty.

"This one of theirs?" Owen asked, as he picked up a hoodie off the floor.

"Yeah," she breathed in relief, recognising Zach's hoodie. "That road goes straight back to the park," she stated calmly.

"How did they even get one of these things started?" Owen asked, looking through the equipment. Claire's nephews were smart if they were able to get it working. He noticed a jump start. Then it clicked; the boys switched the battery and jump started the other jeep.

He was just about to open the jeep's hood when they heard a loud rumbling sound. The Indominus heard the engine too. They both crouched down before Claire moved behind Owen. He spread his arm back to cover her, protective of her. They both crouched behind the front of the jeep, Owen looking over his shoulder. He immediately pulled back when he saw the Indominus' foot at the entrance. He took a deep breath and looked at Claire, watching her carefully as she shook with fear. Once the Indominus left, Owen moved quickly to grab his gun before pulling back beside Claire who was still shaking.

Suddenly, the Indominus broke through the roof of the garage. Claire immediately ran out the door to the side of them while Owen twisted the other way. He realised his mistake and followed Claire just as the Indominus pushed the jeep in an attempt to crush him. They raced through the old building, Claire ignoring Owen's hand as she raced past him.

As they moved, Claire rang Lowery to inform him of the Indominus' whereabouts. "Lowery, we found her," she stated calmly, following Owen through the jungle; and he thought she wouldn't be able to move in them. "South of the Gyrosphere Valley, between the old park and the Aviary."

 _"Wait, are you following the dinosaur?" Lowery replied, confused._

"Yes," she replied, stepping over broken trees and vines. "Get ACU out here. Real guns this time."

 _"ACU is airborne," Lowery informed her, making her stop in her tracks. "They took the helicopter."_

"Who's flying it?" she asked.

 _"Simon is," he replied._

Claire shook her head and took after Owen, both of them racing towards the Aviary. They reached a cliff just as the helicopter came into view above them. They watched as the Indominus broke into the Aviary, unleashing Pterodactyls and Pteranodons, attacking the JW001.

"No!" Claire gasped as the JW001 crashed into the roof of the Aviary.

More Pterodactyls and Pteranodons came through the hole in the roof, flying towards where Claire and Owen were standing. "Trees, the trees! Go! Go!" Owen ordered. They raced under the protection of the trees, Owen pushing Claire to the ground as a Pterodactyl snapped at them.

"Too close," he whispered, his arm still firmly planted over her shoulders. "We need to get back to the park now," he told her.

Claire nodded. She bit back the sudden urge to be sick, leaning into Owen as she tried to resist the sudden urge to get sick. It had been getting worse lately but the events of the day had left her unable to think about it. She didn't want to think of it either, didn't want to acknowledge the fact that there was even a possibility.

Owen helped her up. "Let's go," he instructed, leading her back towards the park.

* * *

As they reached the paddocks for visitors to view the attractions, Claire's phone rang. "Hello?" she answered.

 _"Claire, we spotted the boys on surveillance," Zara informed her. "They're approaching the west gate. I'm headed there now."_

"Okay," Claire replied, relief obvious in her voice. "Okay. Stay right there. I'm on my way. Stay right with them," she ordered.

"Hey!" Owen shouted from where he had taken a quad. "Get on!" he ordered. She quickly raced over to him, climbing onto the quad behind him. Owen waited until she was sitting behind him before pulling off.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, due to a containment anomaly all guests must take shelter immediately," the announcer stated over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, due to a containment anomaly all guests must take shelter immediately." The wail alarm sounded as Pterodactyls and Pteranodons arrived at the main arena of the visitors' centre._

"Claire, come on!" Owen shouted as they fought their way through the panicking crowd. The security guards and Owen shot at the Pterodactyls and Pteranodons while Claire stood on a fallen cart, using it for height advantage, trying to find her nephews.

"Zach! Gray!" Claire shouted.

"Aunt Claire!" Zach shouted, spotting his aunt.

"Go, go!" Gray shouted as they raced towards their aunt.

"Claire!" Zach repeated, spotting the Dimorphodon flying behind them and pulling his brother to the ground.

"No! Hold your..." Owen shouted before he was attacked from behind by a Pteranodon. He twisted on the ground as the flying piranha tried to snap his face off. Suddenly, Claire hit the Pteranodon with the butt of the tranq. gun and shooting it four times. Owen looked at her in surprise; when the fuck did she learn how to shoot. And why did he find that so hot?

"Is that Aunt Claire?" Zach asked, surprised that his aunt was such a badass.

Claire helped Owen off the ground, both of them breathing hard. He took the gun from her before pulling her to him and kissing her hard.

She squealed in surprise at his action but willingly leaned into the kiss, closing her eyes as he did the same, one hand coming up to his shoulder. It had been almost a week since they last kissed and he didn't know if it was the last time he would have the chance.

When they pulled away, Claire smiled at him slightly before finding her nephews standing meters away. "It's them!" she exclaimed before pulling away from Owen and racing over to them. "Zach! Gray!" she shouted. "My God! Thank God! Thank God!" she exclaimed, checking Gray's injuries. "What happened? What is this? Are you okay? Where did you go? Why didn't you come back? I was so worried about you."

"Who's that?" Zach interrupted, looking over at Owen.

Claire turned around to see Owen standing behind them. "We work together," she answered instead.

Owen bit back a smirk at the knowing look Claire's nephews' shared. "Hey," he called, catching Claire's attention. "We gotta go," he added.

Claire nodded. "Okay," she stated, grabbing Zach and Gray, steering them after Owen. "Come on, come on."

* * *

Claire and Owen led Zach and Gray out from the open. Claire rang Lowery to get any updates available. "Lowery, I'm on my way back to you," she informed him.

 _"That's a bad idea," he replied, sounding like he was whispering. "The board assigned emergency ops to InGen's private security division. This guy Hoskins is in charge. And he has this insane plan to use the Raptors to hunt the Indominus."_

"What do you mean 'use the Raptors'?" she asked, sounding confused.

"Son of a bitch!" Owen exclaimed after hearing her say those words. He was going to kill Hoskins.

"You shouldn't say 'bitch'," Gray reprimanded as they watched helicopters arrive overhead.

"Take the kids. Get them someplace safe," Owen ordered before turning around to see the runway doors crash opened with a Pterodactyl close behind the crowd. The four of them raced towards the jeep, climbing in. Owen put it into reverse.

"You got this!" Zach shouted.

"Go faster!" Gray inputted.

"Damn it, drive!" Zach added. "This does not feel safe," he commented when Owen parked the car in an enclosure while the panicked crowd stampeded pass them.

"Can we stay with you?" Gray asked.

"I am never leaving you as long as you live," Claire stated.

"No, him," Gray replied, pointing towards Owen as Zach did the same.

"Yeah, definitely him," Zach added.

Claire and Owen shared a look. He subtly nodded. When the crowd eased down, he pulled out of the enclosure and made his way to the Raptor Paddock.

* * *

When they arrived, night had fallen. He climbed out of the jeep and marched over to where Hoskins was grinning smugly. Too smugly.

"The mother hen has finally arrived," Hoskins commented before Owen punched him, knocking that smug smirk off the former's face.

"Get the hell out of here. And stay away from my animals," Owen growled at him, his voice low and threatening; there was a reason he was the Raptor's Alpha.

"Hoskins, you wanted this to happen, you son of a bitch!" Claire added, glaring at him. She could curse when Zach and Gray weren't listening.

"Jesus!" Hoskins cursed. "How many more people have to die before this mission starts to make sense to you?" he tried.

"It's not a mission. It's a field test," Barry inputted.

"This is an InGen situation now," Hoskins stated, making Claire shake her head. "Okay, there are gonna be cruise ships that show up here at first light. Everybody's gonna get off this island. You're gonna watch a news story tomorrow about how you all saved lives. No, better yet, how your animals saved lives."

Owen looked at Barry over Claire's head. "They've never been out of containment," Barry stated calmly. "It's crazy."

"Let's move it out!" Hoskins shouted to his men. He turned back to Owen. "This is happening! With or without you."

* * *

After Owen returned from debriefing the troops, Zach and Gray watched Owen and Barry tend to the raptors. "Easy, Blue. Easy," Owen whispered to the Beta. "Attagirl. You don't scare me."

"Owen?" Gray called, making Owen turn to face him. "Are they safe?" he asked, looking at the raptors with concern and awe.

"No, they're not," Owen replied honestly.

"What are their names?" Zach asked, not wanting his brother to hear anything else bad.

"Well, you got Charlie," Owen stated, pointing at each of the raptors as Claire appeared from wherever she had been. "There's Echo. Here is Delta. This one's called Blue. She's the beta."

"Who's the alpha?" Gray asked, looking back at the raptors before Owen's words caught his attention.

"You're looking at him, kid," Owen replied confidently as Claire approached them. He locked eyes with her as she walked over to the cage beside the boys.

"Come on boys. We need to get you somewhere," she stated, watching Owen for a moment more before her nephews turned to face her. "We need to let Owen get ready," she added, looking back at him. She pointed towards a medical truck. "Start making your way over," she ordered. The boys groaned before following her orders. She turned to look at Owen. "Be careful out there," she told him softly, resting her hand on the cage. "Please."

Owen rested his hand over hers. "I promise," he whispered, smiling at her softly.

She bit her lip and nodded. "We're good, right?" she asked, unable to think of anything else.

Owen smiled. "Yeah. We are. We still need to talk about this, us, after this," he replied, gesturing between them.

She smiled softly. "I will see you later, Owen."

He caught her hand before she could pull away. He lifted her hand to her lips, kissing her knuckles softly. "I promise," he repeated.

She swallowed before nodding. "I'm going to go get the boys out of the open," she whispered, slowly taking her hand from him. Owen watched her move after her nephews as she followed them.

Claire caught up with the boys and opened the door to the medical truck. "See? Totally safe," she commented, looking into the truck; she could hear the lie herself. "All right, get in. Come on. Get in there," she instructed. As the boys settled at the front of the cabin, she informed them, "If you need me, I'll be right up front. Just open that window. Okay?"

The boys nodded. "Put your seatbelts on," she added. When they found now, she mentally grimaced; she was such an idiot. "Okay, so just... Hold hands." And that was worse.

She walked up to the front of the truck, pulling off her blouse as she moved. She climbed into the driver's seat, pulling up the screen which showed Owen and Barry leading the attack squad.

She didn't noticed her nephews slide the window open to watch the screen. She pulled up the screen focusing on Owen. "Your boyfriend's a badass," Zach commented from behind her, making Claire smile proudly, not bothering to correct him.

* * *

The attack was a complete failure. Then the raptors showed up at the paddock. She drove them out of there, flight or fight taking over. Owen caught up with them and signalled for her to follow him back to the visitors' centre.

"Lowery, we're headed your way. Call in a chopper," she ordered him as she drove.

Owen and Claire pulled up at the visitors' centre. "Come on, come on," Claire called at the boys, pulling them with her as Owen led them up into the centre. "Go inside."

Owen let them through as he looked behind them.

"Control room!" Claire shouted at Zach and Gray, pointing past them. "That way."

Owen raced after them as they made their up through the lab. They came to a halt as they heard glasses breaking.

"They evacuated the lab," Claire breathed in disbelief. She looked at Owen before leading the way into the hidden lab behind Dr. Wu's office. They walked in, finding weird experiments all over the place. While they were looking around, InGen personnel arrived, taking more tubes. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Hoskins stepped inside. "I'm afraid that's above your pay grade, honey," he replied with a smug smirk.

"Where's Henry?" Claire asked, ignoring his patronising sexist tone.

"Dr. Wu," he started, "he works for us."

"That's not a real dinosaur," Gray pointed out, looking at the screen where the Indominus Rex bio was showcased.

"No, it ain't, kid," Hoskins replied. "But somebody's gotta make sure that this company has a future," he stated, looking pointedly at Claire. "Imagine, that one, a fraction of the size. Deadly, intelligent, able to hide from the most advanced military technology. A living weapon unlike anything we've ever seen. You see... Millions of years of evolution, what did we learn? Nature is the gift that just..." he explained before Delta suddenly broke into the lab, eyes locked on Hoskins.

"Shit!" Hoskins exclaimed, stepping back in fear as Delta continued to approach him. "Easy," he tried, his voice cracking from fear. "Easy, boy. Easy. Hey, hey. We're on the same side, right? Right?" He raised his hand in an attempt to placate the dinosaur

Owen pushed Claire and the boys behind him, watching Delta carefully.

"Easy," Hoskins repeated as he slid down the glass door behind him. "I'm on your side."

Delta didn't agree. She bit down on Hoskins' arm, the man screaming in agony.

The boys led Owen and Claire out of the lab as Delta begun to devour Hoskins, blood splattering over the lab.

They raced out of the lab before Claire shouted, "No, boys. Boys, this way. Come on." She caught Zach and pushed himself and Gray in front of her. "Come on. Come on." Suddenly, Delta crashed through the class in front of them, making the group change back the way Gray and Zach had originally aimed towards. They raced downstairs, out of the centre. Gray activated a hologram on the way out, bring up a hologram of a Dilophosaurus, distracting her. When they reached the courtyard of the main centre, the group was confronted by Blue. Delta burst through the doors of the visiting centre, continuing her pursuit after realizing the hologram wasn't real. As Delta approached the group, Echo joined her sisters.

Owen kept his eyes locked on Blue, knowing Echo and Delta wouldn't attack until Blue gave the order. "That's how it is?" he asked, watching Blue. She was hesitating, conflicted between her loyalty to her old Alpha and that to her new Alpha. Owen dropped his gun when he realised Blue was hesitating, his eyes still locked on hers. She growled at him as he raised his right hand. "Easy. Easy," he whispered, slowly reaching forward to the head strap Hoskins' men had put on her. "Easy," he repeated, undoing the strap at the side and letting it slide off of her head. "That's it," he whispered, noticing Blue was responding well to his calm approach. He let out a smile, realising he was winning back his Beta.

Suddenly, the Indominus Rex showed up. She let out a quick hissing growl, obviously trying to order Blue, Delta and Echo to attack Owen, Claire, Zach and Gray. Owen kept his hand lifted, as Blue turned to him, making similar noises to the Indominus. Blue turned back around and screeched at the Indominus, turning against the Raptor hybrid. The Indominus let out a roar of protest and swiped Blue into the column of a building, knocking her out. The Indominus turned her attention back to the group as Delta and Echo screeched at her for attacking Blue, defending the group. Owen noticed and realised he had his pack back. Whistling a command, the two remaining raptors attacked the Indominus on Owen's order.

As Delta and Echo jumped and attacked the Indominus, Zach and Gray led Claire pass the battle, jumping into a vendor's outlet. Owen shot at the Indominus, making sure to dodge his Raptors. He ducked behind the sculpture in front of Pandora.

Gray started counting as Zach kept him pressed up against the back wall of the store. "24, 50," he observed to himself. "We need more," he told Claire.

"More what?" she whisper-shouted back at him, confused.

"Teeth," he replied as if it was obvious. "We need more teeth."

Realisation came over Claire. There was one land dinosaur in its paddock that could help them. She looked and spotted the first aid kit on the wall; that held a flare. She stood up and grabbed it and a radio. "Okay, so you just wait here," she told the boys shakily. "It's going to be fine."

Zach and Gray simply nodded. She jumped out of the vendor's store and raced towards the paddocks. Owen noticed her running, frowning in confusion at her. He returned to shooting at the Indominus, trying to give Claire cover for whatever she was planning to do. The Indominus caught Delta with her mouth and tossed her into a restaurant's burners, incinerating Delta in seconds. Owen jumped out of the way as the Indominus' tail hit the sculpture he had been using. He raced into the vendor the boys were hiding in as the Indominus grabbed an injured Echo and threw her out of her way. Owen held up a finger to his mouth, urging the boys to be quiet. But the Indominus was able to sniff them out. She crashed through the roof, reaching for them. Owen pulled the boys to the far end, trying to get away from the hybrid…

* * *

Claire raced down through the way to the paddocks. "Lowery, are you still there?" she asked over the radio.

 _"Hey, where are you?" he replied._

"I need you to open Paddock 9," she answered instead.

 _"Paddock 9?" he replied in confusion, wheeling over to the control panel. "You kidding?" She had to be kidding._

Claire heard the Indominus roaring, endangering the lives of her nephews and Owen, and she knew she didn't need Lowery questioning her. "Damn it, Lowery, be a man and do something for once in your life," she shouted into the radio. That was a bit harsh but she knew it would get a reaction.

 _"Why do you have to make it personal?" he whispered, opening the paddock doors as Claire tossed the radio._

Claire took deep shuddering breaths as she lit the flare, looking into the paddock as its inhabitant stomped towards the opening door. Claire nodded as the park's veteran Tyrannosaurus Rex, Rexy, caught sight of her and the flare. As it came to the door, Claire turned and ran back down to the courtyard…

* * *

The Indominus' claw caught Owen's bag belt. As she tried to pull him, Zach managed to get the bag undone before she could pull him out of the way.

Claire arrived with Rexy hot on her heels just as Gray's bag broke free. She tossed the flare at the Indominus and threw herself to the ground, out of the way, as Rexy broke through the Spinosaurus skeleton. The Indominus roared at Rexy, realising that she was not the only large carnivorous dinosaur around. They circled half-way, eyeing each other up. Owen's eyes caught Claire's before he looked up at the two large dinosaurs who were roaring at each other for supreme dominance. The two charged at each other, Rexy initially winning the first bite. However, the Indominus' raptor traits allowed her to begin to dominate. Owen grabbed the boys as the Indominus pushed a snapping Rexy through the stall, covering them. When he looked back over at Claire, she screamed, "Run!"

"Go! Go, go!" Owen shouted at the boys, guiding them out of the stall. They joined Claire where she hid, watching Rexy's fallen form as the Indominus approached her, one foot on Rexy's stomach as she made to bit down on Rexy's neck. Suddenly, everyone heard Blue's scrawl as she rejoined the fight having regained consciousness. She raced towards the Indominus, using Rexy's body to jump and lunge at the hybrid, biting into her skin. Blue's attack allow Rexy to get back on her feet. Rexy bit into the Indominus' neck, dodging Blue. The two continued to work together against the hybrid. Blue rode on Rexy's back while she smashed the Indominus into one of main street's buildings.

The group ran through one of the stores, momentarily meeting Blue before the latter rejoined the fight. Eventually, Rexy managed to toss the Indominus into the Mosasaurus' lagoon's barricade, breaking it. The group watched as the Mosasaurus leaped up and grabbed the Indominus, dragging her into the bottom of the lagoon. As the Mosasaurus had its new meal, the group watched Rexy turn on Blue. But to their surprise, Rexy decided to spare Blue, as gratitude for saving her life, despite Rexy's unpleasant encounter with Raptors in the past. Blue turned towards Owen as Rexy stomped off, chirping at him momentarily before he shook his head at her, letting her go. The group walked back onto the street, watching Blue run off into the jungle while the buildings stayed destroyed.

* * *

Eventually, they ended up in the hanger where tourists and staff members were being treated before they were shipped off. Claire wasn't sure where Owen disappeared to as she sat with Zach and Gray, the latter having fallen half-asleep with his head in her lap. She smiled down at him softly, stroking his hair gently.

Claire looked around and spotted her sister and brother-in-law. "Oh my God, it's your parents," she told her nephews. "It's your parents," she repeated, standing up and letting them reunite with their parents. "Come on, come on."

"Are you okay?" Karen asked as she hugged Gray, kissing his head. "Baby."

Claire watched, teary-eyed at the reunion. Karen let Gray go so he could hug his father while she approached her sister.

"I'm so sorry," Claire whispered brokenly as her big sister hugged her.

"Shush," Karen told her, relieved to see all of her family safe. "Are you okay?" she asked Claire.

Claire nodded, unable to speak as Karen cupped her face. Karen smiled at her before she made her way back over to her boys. "Come here," she told Zach, earning a hug from her oldest boy. "Sweetie," she whispered as he held her tight.

Claire spotted Owen helping an old man across from her. He turned and spotted her, his eyes focusing on her alone. He met her halfway, waiting for her to speak first; they hadn't spoken much since the kiss with saving everyone and surviving. "So, what do we do now?" she finally asked him.

"Probably stick together," he replied, trying to sound smooth. "For survival," he added cheekily.

Claire couldn't help but smile and shake her head, following him out of the hanger…

* * *

Later, when they made it to the hotel the Cooperate had put up the survivors from the island, Claire collapsed into Owen's arms in the shower they had decided to take together. She buried her face in his bare chest, the smell of gasoline still seeping from his body, masking his natural musky outdoor scent.

Owen pressed his lips to the top of her head, his arms wrapped gently around her waist. The water streamed down on them, drowning out other sounds outside their bubble.

"I missed you," she whispered against the skin of his chest, breaking the silence and surprising Owen.

He cupped her face and lifted her face to look her in the eye, needing eye contact for this conversation, neither caring that they were naked and in a shower trying to wash dinosaur shit, blood and dirt from their bodies. "Why did you ask me to leave?" he asked. "Last week, you told me to leave. After telling me that my life was more important than the dinosaurs. Why?"

She decided to be honest; he deserved that from her. "I was scared," she confessed. "I was alone for so long. I was afraid of letting you past my wall. I was hurt badly the last time I let someone in. And I hurt you because of my fear."

Owen frowned. "I'm not Adam, Claire," he whispered, realising that what her ex had done to her had scarred her, making it hard for her to trust anyone; especially, men in general.

She smiled softly and sadly at him. "I know. You never raised a hand against me. You actually helped me more than any of my exes," she told him. "I was just used to being used for sex. And I painted you with the same brush. I'm sorry."

Owen shook his head and pressed his lips to hers. "No need to apologise," he promised when he pulled away. "I missed you too," he added, leaning his forehead against hers.

Claire sighed and closed her eyes. "The past forty-eight hours have been the worst," she whispered, making him chuckle in agreement.

"I think our kiss was the only good thing apart from finding your nephews," he stated, making her look back up at him.

"Of course you would," she commented dryly, smiling at him. He smiled and leaned down, kissing her softly. Claire's hands came to his hair, her fingers trailing through his wet locks as he brought one of his hands to the back of her neck, the other resting on the small of her back. She moaned into the kiss before Owen gently pressed her against the wall, deepening the kiss. Neither were in the shape for anything acrobatic but that didn't stop him from wanting to feel her against him after having been denied her touch for almost a week.

Claire moaned loudly into the kiss, arching into Owen's touch. Her feet ached from being in heels all day but at least they had been better than running bare-foot in the jungle. Her breasts were pressed up against Owen's hard chest as he kept her pressed up against the wall. "Bed," she mumbled, breaking the kiss to breathe. She had seen the scratches on Owen's back from where the Pteranodon had tried to claw his back up.

Owen nodded, shutting off the shower. He grabbed a towel and gently dried Claire before claiming her lips as she tried to do the same for him. "Stop distracting me," she mumbled into his mouth.

He simply chuckled and picked her up as if she weighed nothing. She squealed in protest, wrapping her arms around his neck. He carried her out to the bed. "I like distracting you," he mumbled as he lay her down on the bed before climbing on top of her. "You are so beautiful," he whispered as he slowly kissed up her body. "I don't think either of us are able for anything too much," he added, looking up at her.

Claire bit her lip and nodded, gently pulling him up so she could kiss him. "Slow," she whispered into his mouth.

Owen groaned, breaking the kiss and resting his head against hers. He reached over to grab his wallet, pulling the condom out and handing it to her. He brought one hand between them, testing whether she was ready for him while she ripped open the foil before rolling it down onto his cock. "Fuck," he groaned as her small, dainty hands worked his already hard cock. "Claire."

She grinned and positioned him at her entrance. "Make love to me, Owen," she whispered, making him smile at her. He slowly pushed in, kissing her deeply as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She brought one hand to cup the back of her head, kissing him deeply as he waited for her to adjust to his cock inside of her.

He kissed her deeply, slowly rocking his hips against hers. She moaned into the kiss, tightening her legs around his waist. Breaking the kiss, she bit her bottom lip as he took one of her hands in his, curling his fingers around hers. "Owen," she moaned, his hand coming down to rub her clit in time with his thrusts.

He pressed nipping kisses to her bottom lip as he moved inside her. She brought her other hand to the back of his head, deepening the kiss as their hips worked together. He pinched her clit when he felt her fluttering around his cock, she moaned his name loudly into his mouth, arching into his body as she came around him. Her climax had him spilling inside the condom, thrusting slowly into her as they rode out their orgasms.

Claire continued to kiss him slowly as they came down from their highs, no longer willing to take their moments together for granted anymore. Eventually, he pulled out, earning a low whimper from the red-head as he slipped out. He quickly took care of the condom before rejoining her in the bed. She curled into him, her head resting on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Owen pressed his lips to the top of her head, content to just hold her.

"We need another shower," she mumbled sleepily against the bare chiselled muscles of his chest.

Owen chuckled and brought one hand up to gently push a lock of hair from her face. "In the morning. We need sleep more," he replied, kissing her temple softly. Claire closed her eyes and inhaled, leaning into him. She let the rhythmic beat of his heart lull her to sleep. Owen sighed and held her close, content to hold her and forget about everything that had happened that week…

* * *

Claire groaned. She was getting sick of this now. She rested her head on the toilet seat, taking deep breaths as she recovered from her vomiting. Owen and her were staying in Washington for the duration of the legal disputes and court cases. And now she was getting sick at almost every smell. She did not need this right now. Owen did not need this right now. But she had been suspecting this for the past two months; it was only a matter of time before she would be unable to ignore it anymore.

She flushed the toilet and moved so her back was against the wall. She rubbed her eyes before getting up, checking if she had the three tests hidden in the bathroom; they were hidden in her toiletry bag – because Owen refused to look inside it. She took the three of them, placing them neatly on the kitchen counter as she waited for the timer on her phone to go off. She sat on the edge of the bath tub, head in her hands as she waited for them, a million miles running through her head. How would they deal with a baby? How could they juggle a baby while still dealing with the outcome of the Incident? How would Owen react? Did he want kids? This was too soon.

Her thoughts were cut short when the timer went off. She stood up slowly, not wanting to make herself sick from getting up too quickly. She took a deep breath before looking at the tests, her stomach plummeting; three pink pluses. She leaned against the counter, taking deep breaths like she did when she had nightmares about the Incident. The way Owen had helped her deal with her anxiety attacks. Suddenly, a knock hit the bathroom door. "Claire? You okay?" Owen called through the door.

She bit her bottom lip. "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute," she called back, looking at her reflection in the mirror; she was deadly pale. Granted, she was normally pale but right now, she looked like a ghost. She hid the tests in her toiletry bag and quickly brushed her teeth before making her way out to find Owen sitting on the bed, flicking through the reports on the hotel's TV.

Owen raised his head when he heard her, looking at her with a concerned face. "Are you okay?" he asked, quickly standing up and closing the distance between them.

Claire smiled at his concern. "I'm fine, Owen," she promised, cupping his face between her hands.

Owen raised an eyebrow but said nothing, engulfing her in the hug. "You know you can trust me," he whispered into her hair. "Right?"

Claire nodded, closing her eyes and nuzzling his chest, inhaling his scent; the only thing that didn't make her sick. "Yes. I trust you, Owen."

"Then what are you not telling me?" he asked, hurt.

Claire sighed before pulling back to look up at him. "Because I'm still figuring it out in my own mind," she answered honestly. "Until I figure it out there, I can't tell you yet."

"But you will tell me?" he asked, hopeful but understanding.

She nodded, leaned up to kiss him softly. "I promise," she whispered against his lips. Neither of them said anything else for the rest of the day, too busy with court appearances to talk about what she was hiding from him…

* * *

Five days later, Claire and Owen had still not discussed what she was hiding. She had become distant too, spending little time with him. When he'd come home from his own appearances and meetings, Claire would be in meetings with Masrani Global or on the phone arranging various appearances and sorting legal disputes. And he was getting pissed. And worried. He stormed in one evening, finding Claire lying in the bed, reading a book. "When are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked, glaring at her when she lifted her head, frowning at him.

"What are you talking about, Owen?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, watching him as he began to strip off his Henley.

"You!" he shouted, turning away from her as he stripped. "We agreed to talk if something was wrong, Claire!" Owen shouted, turning to face her. "You promised, Claire!" He froze when he found her curled into herself. "Shit. Claire." He walked over to the bed, breath catching when Claire flinched away from him. "I'm sorry, Baby. I'm so sorry."

Claire breathed heavily, not knowing how to react. He had never got like this. Why was he being like this? All of a sudden, she was back in her childhood home as her father roared at her mother while she and Karen hid.

Owen lay down on the bed, leaving room between them. He slowly reached out, resting one hand on top of hers, his fingers gently intertwining with hers. "Claire. Eyes on me," he gently ordered, making her look him straight in the eye. "Focus on me, Claire. Breathe. In. Out. You're here. Not Madison. You're not in New York. You're with me in Washington. You're safe."

Claire slowly got her breathing under her control, realising that – not for the first time since the Incident – she had had another anxiety attack. "Owen," she whispered, tightening her fingers around his.

Owen smiled weakly. "Can I hold you?" he asked, keeping his voice low. Instead of answering, Claire moved into his arms, her head resting over his heart. He brought his arms around her waist, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry I shouted at you," he whispered after a few minutes of silence. Claire pressed closer to him, letting him continue. "I'm scared, Claire. We promised to talk to each other, to be there for each other. But I feel like you're blocking me out," he confessed, closing his eyes and inhaling her scent. "I don't want you to push me away, Claire. I'll only lose you if you do."

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out, not knowing what else to say.

Owen immediately froze at her words. Claire sat up and looked at him. "I know it's not the right time and I know I should have told you the second I became suspicious of the possibility but I wanted to be sure before I said anything," she rambled, looking down at her hands. "I understand if you don't want the baby. I understand if you want to up and leave and have nothing to do with me but I thought you would at least want to know that you're going to be a father…"

Owen sat up and kissed her, stopping her from rambling on. She squeaked in surprise but leaned into the kiss. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers. "I'm not going anywhere, Claire," he promised, bringing one hand down to her stomach; how did he not notice the changes? "We're having a baby," he whispered, not believing the words that fell from his lips.

"I have an appointment with the local OB/GYN," she informed him. "In between court appearances and a meeting with Masrani Global."

Owen nodded. "Okay. Okay, we can work with that," he stated, kissing her again. "You are brilliant, you know that?" he whispered into her mouth.

Claire let out a snort of a chuckle. "Once upon a time you used to hate my need for an itinerary," she stated, making him grin.

"Now I just find it hot," he stated, cupping her cheek softly. "I'm really sorry that I shouted at you," he added, frowning.

She shook her head. "You didn't know," she whispered, moving into his arms, sitting astride his lap. "I forgive you," she whispered, kissing him slowly.

Owen's hands rested lightly on her hips as he let her lead the kiss. He leaned back against the headboard, smiling into their kiss. Breaking the kiss, he nuzzled her throat with his nose. "I love you," he whispered against her skin. Claire's breath stuttered and she pulled back, eyes widening in surprise; she had not been expecting that to come from his lips. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I loved you before the Incident. We'd been having our arrangement for almost six months… And you just… You ruined me for anyone else," he confessed.

Claire kissed him hard. Owen muffled a groan, pulling her closer to him. "I love you too," she whispered, breaking the kiss to rest her forehead against his, earning a proud smile from her lover

"When did you find out?" he whispered, moving them so they were lying side-by-side, placing a gentle hand on her stomach.

"Confirmation five days ago," she confessed. "When I took so long in the bathroom; I took three pregnancy tests. They confirmed it."

Owen pressed his lips to her forehead. "Don't hold the world on your shoulders, Claire. I'm here for you," he promised.

Claire rested her head in the crook of Owen's shoulder. "I know. It's just hard to break habits," she whispered. "I'm scared," she admitted, making Owen frown. "Until the Incident, I was a pretty crap aunt. I'm scared I'll be a crap mother."

Owen hugged her tighter. "As long as you know what not to do," he started, "You are better than the parents who never wanted to be the best for their kids. Wanting to be the best, but scared you won't? That's a good sign," he whispered softly.

She closed her eyes and brought one hand to his chest, tracing a scar she had long since learned that he had earned in his time for the Navy. "I love you, Owen," she whispered, listening to his heartbeat.

"I love you too, Claire," he whispered, kissing her forehead as she fell asleep in his arms. He brought one hand down to the slight curve of Claire's stomach. His initial reaction was shock, disbelief and fear. But now; now, he was excited. Still scared but excited. "I'll keep you and your mommy safe," he promised the growing life in Claire's womb…

* * *

"Good morning, Ms Dearing. My name is Doctor Lucy Barton. How are you?" the OB/GYN asked as she entered the room.

"Good morning, Dr. Waiting to see if the baby is okay," Claire replied honestly. "This is my partner, Owen Grady," she added, gesturing to him where he sat patiently beside her.

Lucy smiled. "Good morning, Mr Grady. Shall we get to the main event?" she asked, pulling up the ultrasound beside her. When Claire nodded, Lucy gestured for Claire to lie down on the examination table. "Okay so I need you to pull your top over your stomach. And the gel is very cold," Lucy instructed as she grabbed the gel.

Claire did as she was told and pulled up to under her breasts, flinching gently at the cool gel. She relaxed when Owen took her hand in his, squeezing gently, earning a smile from her.

"You're between ten and elevens weeks along. Everything looks okay with the baby. Excellent movement and posture. Heartbeat is strong for an early stage," Lucy observed as she moved the sensor over Claire's bump. "The webbed hands and feet have separated into fingers and toes. The bones will begin to harden now and its kidneys are now producing urine. The baby's brain is developing too. It's the end of the embryonic stage which marks a turning point for development dangers; that means that your baby is much less susceptible to them now."

Claire let out a sigh she didn't realise she had been holding; her baby was safe. Owen brought her hand to his mouth, gently kissing her knuckles. She turned to look at him. "We're going to have to start planning things for the baby," she whispered, making Owen smile at her.

He leaned down and kissed her softly. "Okay. We're gonna have one beautiful kid, Claire," he whispered, smiling at the red-head. Neither of them had noticed Lucy stand up and walk over to the printer, only noticing any movement when she handed them two photographs of Claire's scan. They smiled as they looked at the small blue figure in the picture.

 _Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump._ The sudden noise made Owen and Claire look up from the pictures and look at the ultrasound screen. "Is that its heartbeat?" Owen whispered, tightening his fingers around Claire's.

"Yes," Lucy replied, smiling at the look of delight on both Claire and Owen's face. "A very strong heartbeat that suggests he or she is going to be a handful," she added. She pulled a few pieces of tissue out of the box beside the bed and handed them to Claire to let her wipe the gel off her stomach.

Claire looked at Owen, smiling at the look of adoration on his face. "Happy, Mr. Grady?" she teased lightly.

Owen grinned at her. "I'm in awe of you, Ms Dearing," he answered, kissing her lightly. "You're having our baby, Claire," he whispered against her lips, earning a smile from the red-head.

"Our baby," she repeated, making him grin happily…

* * *

"I told you," Karen greeted when Claire and Owen showed up almost three months later, finished with their appearances in the lawsuits and court appearances, Claire's bump now too obvious to hide under Owen's clothes.

Claire raised an eyebrow at her older sister, shaking her head. "You are impossible," she stated, hugging her sister. "Hi Mom," she added cheekily.

Karen smirked as she pulled back, greeting Owen with a hug. "You two didn't waste time," she quipped, looking directly at Claire when she spoke, making her younger sister blush.

"I was pregnant during the Incident," Claire muttered, making her sister turn to her.

"What?!" Karen screeched, not believing a word coming from her sister's mouth. "Did you know? How could you put yourself in danger like that? Or your baby?" She paused, her eyes widening in realisation. "You were pregnant for mom's funeral."

Claire bit her bottom lip. "Yes, I was pregnant at mom's funeral but I didn't know then," she defended, interrupting her sister. "Your sons were in danger during the Incident so I didn't pass any focus on the slight possibility that I was pregnant because I wasn't ready to face it."

Karen's eyes narrowed before looking between her and Owen. "You two were dating before the Incident," she stated, making Owen snort and Claire roll her eyes.

"More like having a friendly business arrangement involving sex," Owen replied honestly, making Claire glare at him. "But we were secretly seeing each other," he added. "Just, we didn't admit that we liked each other more than sex. And fights weren't uncommon."

Karen turned to her sister. "He was the hot asshole who was too good looking for his own good? The most infuriating man to walk the earth?" she asked, smirking at Claire.

Owen grinned at Claire as well, making her blush and roll her eyes. "Aww, Babe… You had a crush on me," he teased. "How embarrassing…"

Claire rolled her eyes. Again. "We're having a baby together," she pointed out, gesturing to her very obvious baby bump.

"Still…" He grinned and she would forever blame it on the hormones for finding that sight so cute.

Karen grinned, forgetting about the rant she had prepared for her sister for putting herself and her unborn baby at risk; she was grateful for Claire protecting her boys and remaining close following the Incident but that didn't mean putting her own baby at risk to do so. "You two are adorable," she stated, making Claire and Owen look at her as if only remembering that she was there. "I have put you up in the spare room. Gray and Zach will be delighted to see you when they get home from school," she added, smiling at her sister and Owen.

Claire smiled. "I need to go lie down. My feet are killing me," she stated, making Owen raise his hands.

"You can run through a jungle and outrun a T-Rex in high heels," he complained good-heartedly. "But your feet swell when you're pregnant."

"Most women's feet swell when they are pregnant," Karen pointed out before Claire could open her mouth. "Your point is invalid, Grady."

Owen placed his hands on his hips and shook his head with a grin. "The Dearing sisters are ganging up on me," he sighed, making the two in question grin cheekily at him in reply. "I'm going to get the bags before I say something that will get me slapped. Or worse," he stated before walking back outside to bring the bags out of the car.

Karen turned to her sister. "You're glowing," she stated, making Claire smirk at her. "And that is the brightest smile I have ever seen on Owen's face since I met him. And that little crush statement… You two are head over heels."

Claire smiled and looked out the door to where Owen was getting their bags. "Yeah… I am…" she agreed, resting a gentle hand over her growing baby bump. "I really am."

* * *

Owen frowned as he watched Claire huff as she looked through her clothes that she had packed in their suitcases while they were visiting her sister. "Babe, what's wrong?" he asked, sitting up as she threw down another T-shirt.

"I'm fat," she declared, making him raise an eyebrow at her.

"What?" he asked, tilting his head and frowning at her.

"I'm fat," she repeated, turning to face him and pointing at her baby bump. "None of my clothes fit. I'm fat." She turned away from him, biting back tears. ' _Damn hormones._ '

Owen sighed; he knew this was coming. He stood up and walked over to her, frowning when she stepped away from him. He didn't let her walk away from him though. He moved in front of her and caught her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Claire. You are not fat," he argued, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "You are pregnant. With our baby. You are not fat. You are beautiful."

Claire bit her lip before letting him pull her into his arms. "I don't feel like me," she whispered, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Owen smiled and kissed her softly. "That's normal," he whispered as he pulled away. "That is completely normal, Claire. You are six months pregnant."

Claire `slowly nodded, bringing her hands to his chest, spreading her fingers; it always amazed her just how small she was in comparison to him. He brought his hands to her waist – what she felt was left of it – and pulled her closer to him.

"You don't realise how hot I find you, do you?" he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

She bit her bottom lip before slowly shaking her head, honestly not feeling hot or sexy or beautiful or anything he could call her. He cupped her face and kissed her again. "You are so beautiful," he whispered, suddenly lifting her up and carrying her over to the bed, gently laying her down on it, pulling his shirt over his head. He leaned down, kissing her baby bump slowly before gently pulling his shirt off of her body. He placed a gentle hand on her bump. "You are carrying our baby. You look so beautiful carrying our baby," he whispered, his eyes locking on hers.

Claire brought her hands to her face, blushing hard. "You're a caveman, Owen Grady," she mumbled before he gently pulled her hands from her face.

"I'm your caveman," he promised, leaning up and kissing her softly. "And I love you."

Claire hummed into the kiss before breaking the kiss, smiling shyly as he held his weight off of her. "I love you too, Owen," she whispered, bringing one hand up to cup his scruff-covered jaw. He smiled at her and kissed her again, whimpering into the kiss when he accidently brushed against her sensitive breasts. "Owen."

He broke the kiss and placed his hand gently on her sternum. "Can I make love to you, Claire?" he whispered huskily, his blue eyes locked on her green ones.

She bit her lip and nodded, gasping when he lowered his head to kiss along her breasts. Suddenly, he pulled away, making her whine at the loss of contact. "Strip," he ordered as he climbed off the bed and walked over to the chest of draws. He opened it and grabbed something, turning around to show Claire that he was holding a bottle of massage oil.

Smiling at him, she did as she was told, nodding when he showed her the bottle of oil. She flicked her panties at him just as he reached her side of the bed, noticing how his eyes darkened at the sight of her pregnant body arching up. Despite her own distaste for her pregnant body, she did enjoy the new way Owen looked at her more. Like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.

Owen climbed back onto the bed, quickly stripping off his jeans and boxers before he climbed onto the mattress. He pressed his lips to her baby bump, smiling up at her lovingly as he slowly kissed his way up her body. "You're so beautiful carrying my baby, Claire," he whispered softly. Even though he couldn't wait until their baby was born, he adored the sight of Claire pregnant with his child. It appealed to his inner caveman desires, which were coming out more often at the sight of her pregnant, particularly when she was wearing his clothes and walking around their home.

He poured a generous amount of oil on his hands, tossing the bottle onto the bedside locker before he began to massage Claire's sensitive breasts. The red-head moaned at the touch, arching up into his touch but didn't reach for him, letting him do as he pleased. He moved so he could kiss her softly, his hands never leaving her as he massaged the oil into her soft, sensitive pale skin.

He leaned down to kiss her as he oiled her up and massaged her, never breaking the kiss; the only times they did pull apart was to catch their breath. Slowly, Claire reached for the bottle of oil, pouring some of it on her hands and reaching for Owen's body. He grinned against her lips, letting her return the favour of oiling up his body. She took her time moving her hands over his muscles, particularly his pecs, arms and abs. She teased his nipples before she brought her hands to the small of his back. She earned a growl of pleased dominance from Owen, making her smirk smugly when he broke the kiss to raise a questioning eyebrow at her pleased smirk.

Replying, Owen slowly reached in between her legs and slid two fingers inside her wet heat. He claimed her mouth again, grinning into her mouth as she gasped and tried to pulled him closer to her body. He teased her, hooking his fingers against her G-spot before relaxing and then repeating the actions all over again. He wasn't going to let her come yet.

Claire was tethering on the edge of ecstasy before Owen suddenly pulled away, earning a whine from the red-head. "Sit up," he ordered softly. She nodded and did as he instructed. He took her place on the bed, sitting back against the headboard so he could plant his feet firmly on the bed before taking her hand and guiding her to straddle his lap. She moved so her knees were bent and open against Owen's chest, her feet planted firmly on the mattress at either side of his hips. Owen gently grabbed her hips, sliding his hands along her thighs, helping her position herself over his cock. She rested her hands on his shoulders, leaning forward and kissing him softly as she slowly sunk down on his cock. They both moaned in pleasure at the sensation of her walls wrapping around him, his length stretching her open.

Owen brought his hands to Claire's ass, smiling into the kiss when she gasped as he squeezed both round cheeks in his large, callus-covered hands. He used the sudden opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, pulling her closer to him at the same time. She moaned into his mouth and brought her hands to his hair, her well-kept fingernails scraping over his scalp. He moaned as his lover began moving up and down along his cock, squeezing her walls around him as she moved. Suddenly, Owen brought one hand up, flicking his thumb over her left nipple before pinching the sensitive erect nub between his pointer finger and thumb. She threw her head back, sobbing his name out in pleasure as she came hard around his cock.

Claire's fluttering walls brought Owen to his own intense orgasm. He grunted her name loudly as he came in long, warm spurts inside her. The intensity of their orgasms caused the red-head to fall against his chest as they recovered from their powerful climaxes. Owen wrapped one arm around her back, his free hand coming to rest on her baby bump.

"I love you, Claire," he whispered when he regained his voice. He kissed her softly, smiling against her lips.

"I love you too, Owen," she whispered softly against his lips, placing her hands over his on her baby bump.

Owen growled appreciatively and kissed her again, pulling her closer to him. She broke the kiss and rested her head over his beating heart, smiling at the feeling of his arms around her waist and baby bump. They fell asleep like that, a hand each on her baby bump…

* * *

Owen smiled down at his newborn son as he held him. Claire was asleep in her bed, head tilted in the direction of her boys. "That's your Mommy," Owen whispered to the sleeping newborn. "You scared the shit out of us," he continued. "You weren't due for another month, buddy. But here you are." The doctors had needed to perform an emergency C-section when they discovered that the baby had his umbilical cord twice around his neck.

But three hours later, here he was, swaddled up in a white baby growth and sleeping peacefully in his father's arms and beating the odds. Jack Carter Grady already had his parents wrapped around his little finger. Owen pressed a soft kiss to his son's head, smiling as he heard Claire stir in the bed. He lifted his head to find her smiling sleepily at him and Jack.

"I want that sight as my wallpaper," she told him, her voice soft as she took in the sight of her lover and their baby boy.

He grinned at her. "He's perfect, Claire," he told her, glancing back down at Jack. "He's absolutely perfect."

Claire smiled. "Did the doctors say anything?" she asked, afraid to break the calm she felt at that moment.

Owen simply stood up and gently laid Jack back in Claire's arms. "You were 36 weeks when he was delivered. They usually want it to be at least 37 weeks but his breathing and reactions are normal. And something they called Apgar was nine. He's healthy," he told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "He's healthy, Claire."

Claire sighed in relief at Owen's words; their baby boy was safe and healthy and she had nothing to worry about as she held her baby boy. She smiled down at Jack, observing his small features. He had inherited Owen's hair and her nose. She wouldn't know for a long time whether or not he would inherit his father's eyes or his mother's. She felt her lover press his lips to her forehead. "I'm still scared," she admitted, making Owen gently lift her face so she would look at him.

"So am I," he whispered, pecking her lips gently. "But that's okay. I'm sticking with you."

Claire kissed him again before Jack stirred in her arms, his small head nuzzling her chest. "I love you, Jack," she whispered to her son, kissing his forehead gently. "And I love your daddy too," she added, looking up at her lover.

Owen smiled and leaned forward, kissing her softly, bringing one hand to brush Jack's soft hair gently. "We made one beautiful kid, Ms Dearing," he whispered, leaning his head against her temple.

"Yes, we did," she agreed, smiling as her little boy blinked wearily from where he was nestled against her chest. "Hello, Jack," she whispered, gently stroking her hand along her son's face as he lay swaddled against her. "You look like your daddy, baby. You'll probably have me wrapped around your baby finger too."

Owen chuckled. "Right back at you, Claire Bear," he whispered, smiling when his son yawn and blinked, his eyes unfocused as he listened to the sounds around him. "He'll probably me a more organised version of me," Owen added, making Claire grin.

"That wouldn't be a bad thing," she commented, making Owen pout at her. "You know I love you," she teased, grinning playfully at him. She gently shuffled over so he could climb in beside her. "Get in," she ordered, earning a raised eyebrow from her partner. "Please," she added.

Owen sighed and pulled off his socks and shoes before climbing into the bed beside her. He wrapped an arm around her waist as he settled beside her, smiling when she rested her head on his shoulder. Jack whimpered at the slight movement but was placated when Claire pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. Owen smiled as Claire gently lifted Jack to place him on Owen's chest before moving so she could curl against her lover.

"He's gonna be a carbon copy of you," she whispered, her hand trailing through Jack's spiky head of mousy-blonde hair. "And he has a lot of hair."

"He has your nose," Owen replied, smiling happily when Claire raised an amused eyebrow at him. "And he sleeps like you."

Claire couldn't stop her small snort of amusement. "Oh how could I forget your unusual need to watch me sleep after sex," she teased, grinning at him before groaning when he pouted at her. "Don't do that, Owen. That's not fair to me." He knew she found it hot when he pouted at her

"Sorry," he whispered before kissing her softly. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.

"I love you too, Owen," she whispered against his lips, smiling as she slowly pulled away. She rested her head back in the crook of his neck, letting her eyes close as she felt herself begin to fall asleep, her son and herself safe in her lover's arms.

"Thank you, Claire," he whispered, smiling as he held his family close.

Claire smiled sleepily. "I told you that I need you," she whispered sleepily.

Owen shook his head. "You don't need anyone, Claire," he whispered. "But thank you for not pushing me away."

She made a soft sound, resting her hand on Jack's back as he laid sleeping on Owen's chest. "Thank you for staying," she whispered before succumbing to sleep.

Owen smiled and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Always," he promised, smiling against her head as he held his family close…

 **Anyone see what I did there? ;) Let me know what you all thought of it :)**


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